Craft group lends a helping hand to shelter animals

RESIDENT animals at the Ballarat Animal Shelter have just received a very welcome donation of one hundred handmade blankets, courtesy of the Linton Craft Group.

Group members presented the blankets – in a wide variety of sizes, shapes and colours – to the shelter at a small on-site event on Monday.

It was attended by shelter staff, City of Ballarat officials and mayor Cr Tracey Hargreaves, and is a big boost for the facility after staff were forced to destroy all bedding and similar items in the wake of the parvovirus outbreak in July.

The craft group, which has only a small number of members, made the blankets over several weeks after receiving donated material of its own.

The group gave about 45 blankets to the shelter last year, but this year decided to step up the effort.

It was driven by group member Dianne Goodwin, who said a lot of material had been donated so members approached the shelter to ask if it needed any blankets.

In a case of extremely good timing, the answer was a definite yes.

Ms Goodwin said the original target had been 85, but as members finished each item they found plenty of material still remaining – so it was rounded up.

“We’d go in of a Monday and sew all day, from 9.30 or 10 until two or three o’clock,” she said.

Ms Goodwin said the group had even more material left over and now planned to make actual coats for dogs at the facility.

Cr Hargreaves described the group’s donation as “absolutely brilliant” for the shelter.

“The 100 brand-new, handmade blankets are going to be very well used by the animals here,” she said.

“We had to get rid of everything with the parvovirus outbreak; the community have heard that call, I think, and have outdone themselves.”

The shelter has been receiving regular community donations of materials for use by its animals since the complete cleanout.