A group of dog-loving A&E nurses from Noble’s Hospital have organised a ball to raise funds for two animal welfare causes.

The 101 Donations charity ball will be at the Palace Hotel on Saturday October 3 in aid of the MSPCA and a Romanian dog shelter.

A& E nurse Jennifer Cannell explained: ‘In our group we’re all animal lovers and mostly dog owners. My last dog, May, a Greek street dog, died earlier this year and I although it was too soon for me to think about getting another dog, I wanted to do some volunteering work with dogs, so decided to go out to Romania, where so many dogs are barely existing in truly awful conditions. I went to the Amicii shelter, a small chartity run by a dedicated team of local people together with two women from the UK, who look after adopting, volunteering and fundraising.

‘I was so moved by what I saw that when I got back home I wanted to do what I could to find some of these dogs a loving home, so I decided to foster dogs from the shelter with a view to rehoming them.’

The dog Jennifer chose from the shelter was a puppy she called Gypsy. ‘I’d spent quite some time with Gypsy while I was out in Romania; she’s adorable and full of character and soon settled in to her new life with me and my partner in the Isle of Man.’

On hearing about the shelter and Gypsy, Yvonne Phillips, Jennifer’s friend and A&E colleague, chose to offer a home to a dog but ended up adopting one, Suzi, from an Amicii fosterer in the UK.

Jennifer said: ‘The shelter’s a lifeline for abused dogs and the volunteers need all the support they can get. Similarly the MCPCA is doing fantastic work - they often help us out when patients are admitted unexpectedly to hospital and don’t have anyone at home who can look after their pets - so the ball will support both of these very deserving causes.’

The idea for the ball was inspired by another A&E nurse Julie Hedley. ‘Julie has two young children and a dog already, so couldn’t adopt another, but she wanted to help, so suggested we hold a ball,’ explained Jennifer. ‘Julie’s been the driving force behind the ball from day one. She’s great at organising and has masterminded the whole event that the rest of us, Yvonne and the other A&E nurses Jo Standish, Kim Durbin, Sharon Weir and Sheilagh Gilman, are just happy to be involved with.

‘The name “101 Donations” was chosen after local businesses were so generous in donating raffle prizes; these include a ?250 voucher for teeth whitening from Tracey Bell, a ?200 prize from Sadler and Vanderplank and a ?100 pamper package from Utopia hair salon, along with vouchers for kinds of other incredible goods and services – from meals to massages – and hampers packed full of fantastic things. There’s also live music from a great band, AM Frequency, a photo booth and it’ll probably come as no surprise that the theme for 101 Donations is black and white.’

101 Donations is on Saturday October 3 starting at 7.30pm at the Palace Hotel. Tickets are ?50 per person and include a complimentary drink on arrival. There’ll also be a photographer on arrival and there’s three-course dinner of a lavish seafood buffet followed by a carvery main course with vegetarian option and a choice of desserts. To book contact Julie Hedley, 455119 or email eganjulie@hotmail.com.  

Photo - Yvonne Phillips with Sky and Suzi, and Jennifer Cannell with Gypsy.