New Chief Executive appointed

Qualified Animal Behaviourist and former BT manager David Foulds joined Jerry Green Dog Rescue as Chief Executive during October following Paul Harbord’s decision to quit the post after a year and return to Australia.

Derby-born David grew up in Coventry, but claims a Lincolnshire connection because his mum was born in Skegness. He was a telecoms manager with BT in the eighties and nineties when he realised he wanted to do something else with his life.

“I got to the point when I was sitting in my 15th-floor office in a tower block in Leicester, and used to go home thinking that what I was doing wasn’t that important. I wanted to do something that made a difference.”

That realisation led him to become a puppy walker for Guide Dogs. “Putting something back was a huge boost to me,” he said. Being a puppy walker led to other things, and he graduated to management and staff training. “It all grew from there,” he added. That growth included his Post-Graduate Diploma in Animal Behaviour Counselling, earned at Southampton University in 2006.

The opportunity to move to Jerry Green Dog Rescue as Chief Executive was one he was keen to grasp. “It is a nice size,” he said. “Not too big and corporate, but more than the a smaller single-site animal rescue organisation,” said David, who, with his partner Sandra owns two dogs – Stig, a German wire-haired Pointer and Eliza, a Papillon.

He’s very conscious that he has arrived at a significant moment in our history, with the 50th Anniversary just around the corner – in a still-uncertain economic climate. “This is an exciting and challenging time for any organisation like ours. I am looking forward to working through the financial difficulties, celebrating our golden anniversary, and helping to make the next 50 years as successful as the first 50.

“There is a huge amount of experience and dedication in the staff at our seven centres and our head office, as well as a supportive Board of Trustees who are firmly behind us all. Our staff regularly go over and above the call of duty on behalf of the dogs in our care. It’s a pleasure to see.

“One such example is Lynne Vincent, who manages our centre in South Lincolnshire. She celebrates her 50th birthday next year, and will walk 50 miles from her centre to our HQ at Broughton in celebration, and raise money towards our £50,000 anniversary fund-raising target. I commend her for the effort she’s making; and she’s already training hard. She’ll be walking through the night, starting on 9 April and finishing on her birthday the next day. If anyone would like to sponsor her, she’d love to hear from you with a telephone call to 01205 260546, or via email to slincs@jerrygreendogs.org.uk . Lots of other news about our 50th Anniversary will be published as the date approaches, and we’ll make sure everyone is kept aware of what’s going on.”