With his famous love of pooches to the fore, Sea Austin, owner of card, gift and stationery shop Austin & Co in Malvern, has used Vladimir Putin dog toys to raise £430 to help Ukrainian rescue centres.
“I was thinking how a quirky independent shop in the English shires could help the cause,” Sean said, “and the only way I could think of is to do what we do best – a mix of our dry humour, quirk, and dogs. Sitting here in Malvern, in a shop that sells nice gifts, cards and stationery, it’s difficult to comprehend that less than 2,000 miles away, a major European country is going through hell.”
Following on from his highly popular range of Boris and Trump dog chews, Sean secured a version depicting the Russian president, and promised all the monies from selling each of the £20 toy would be donated to the cause.”
Having publicised the sale through social media on last Monday (February 28), by Thursday, (March 3), Sean was able to announce: “Thanks to our wonderful customers, we were able this evening to make the first donations totalling £430 from the sale of our first 20 Vlad dog toys.
“It’s been difficult to decide where to donate and which organisation was best placed to help out as quickly as possible. It was also important that the funds raised actually went somewhere where there would be help on the ground, and also taking advice on what was legit or not – even in times of war, there are, unfortunately, still scammers out there.”
The International Fund For Animal Welfare (IFAW) support two shelters in Ukraine and has been supplied resources to include food and veterinary supplies, so received £230, while £200 has been donated to Transform A Street Dog, which rescues and rehabilitates street dogs in Ukraine and is also helping dogs that have had to be abandoned by their owners as they flee the mayhem.
Sean, who has won the Most Dog-Friendly Shop award at least five times, already has 30 more Putin toys ordered, for which he is taking pre-orders, asking customers to pay a minimum of £20 each, which will all be donated to charity, plus £3.95 to cover costs if posted.
Top: The Putin dog toy that helped to raise funds for Ukranian rescue centres.
