Spooky Halloween event in Northampton supports charities against dog meat trade

A Halloween themed community fundraiser in the Obelisk area of Northampton has helped to raise funds for three dog charities.

Foster carer Maureen Hodgson, 63, organised a Halloween themed fundraiser, which took place Sunday, October 31 when residents came together to raise £198 for dog charities: Soi Dog, The Dog Team and Wolfie’s Legacy.

Maureen, talking about the event, said: “I would do this every day if I could. I would say that, during lockdown - more than ever - the community in Obelisk has been phenomenal.

“We felt we had to do something so we did this for the dogs. We put a couple of tables up and advertised it and the neighbours were just great.”

The fundraising event saw an array of spooky decorations erected in the street, lucky dips and stalls selling ‘Witches Brew’ for the adults and hot chocolate and marshmallows for the children.

Maureen added: "I have fundraised all my life. I lost my mum last year and I found an old letter from when I was about 10 years old. It was my local Sunday school thanking me for raising money for them. So I started fundraising from an early age and I knew that helping others is the best feeling in the world."

All proceeds from the event will go into one big pot ahead of the Great Gatsby Masked Ball taking place at The Hilton Hotel in Northampton on Saturday, November 27.

Legendary radio DJ duo, Jagger and Woody, will be hosting an auction at the Christmas themed ball, which will also comprise a visit from Santa Claus, a three course meal, a raffle and a disco so residents can dance the night away. Prizes for the raffle include a camper van, a luxury stay in a boutique B&B and plenty of other goodies provided by local businesses.

There will also be Christmas hampers specially made by Maureen herself and all proceeds raised from the masked ball will go towards the three aforementioned animal charities.

Maureen, who fosters adults with learning disabilities, is heavily involved with the Soi Dog Foundation, which works to help and care for thousands of stray cats and dogs in Thailand whilst offering humane and sustainable solutions to managing their population.

Maureen said: “I would fight to the end of the earth for dogs. We have been going to Thailand over the last sixteen years and that is why I am so involved with the charity and I saw the street dogs - there were so many of them and it was pitiful.”

The fierce animal lover has two rescue dogs of her own at home - a 'loopy' border collie called Lexi and a blind cocker spaniel called Faith, who was adopted from disabled dogs charity, Wolfie’s Legacy, in Wales. Maureen also has a rescue cat called Nala.

Maureen has additionally been involved with the Camp Beagle campaign stationed outside a beagle breeding facility in Wyton, Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire. The breeding facility, ran by Marshall Bio Resources has been 'supplying animals for laboratory testing' for more than 75 years.

The campaign has been publicly backed by actors Ricky Gervais and Downton Abbey’s Peter Egan.

Maureen said: “The activists will not move. They have got toilets and showers set up, they are camped to get this place closed down.

“I went over yesterday to see what was going on and to give the guys a break and - these girls over there, they are just fantastic. I go up there and help and support but I don’t think I could do what they are doing.”

An annual summer ball takes place in aid of the Soi Dog Foundation but it had to be cancelled in the last two years as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The last summer ball to take place in 2019 raised a jaw-dropping £17,000 for the dog charity.

The Soi Dog Summer Ball is set to take place next year on July 23, 2022.

To find out more information or to purchase tickets for the Great Gatsby Masked Ball going ahead on November 27, email [email protected] or [email protected].