Cornwall Search Dogs
Trustee’s Annual Report
For the period 1st November 2023 to 31 st October 2024
Chair’s Report
Looking back on our fourth year of operations I can report that we’ve maintained our systems and governance, conducted searches and forged links with other organisations. This year we have aided the owners of 48 missing dogs in Cornwall.
In last year’s report our outgoing chair said we, “We confidently expect to grow further in year four” and this annual report will show that we have to an extent met that expectation this year. This growth has been made possible by the Trustees who have volunteered their time generously, our teams of search dogs and handlers and our dedicated volunteer supporters, who have attended public events to build our profile in the community and raise essential funding for us.
On behalf of the trustees, I would like to reiterate the Board’s gratitude to the property owners who kindly give CSD permission to carry out essential regular training on their land. The opportunity to train across a variety of landscapes, especially in areas unfrequented by the wider public enables us to hone our dog’s skills quickly and effectively.
This is my first report as chairman, following Andrew stepping down as Chair as it was the end of his three-year term. I am personally very grateful for the tremendous support we receive from the public, community funds, local organisations and national businesses.
In terms of meeting our Charitable objectives we have more than exceeded our second charitable objective attending a large number of call outs for missing dogs. However, in terms of meeting our primary objective we have made little progress. We have on occasion attended missing person callouts at the request of families directly. We continue to liaise with Devon & Cornwall Police with regards to providing assistance to them for missing person call-outs.
During our recent AGM the Trustees discussed our charitable objectives at length and such it is expected that these will be slightly rewritten in order to give our core area of operations preference in terms of fulfilling objectives.
Jenny Pickles
Chair, Cornwall Search Dogs
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Structure
Cornwall Search Dogs (CSD) is a Charitable Incorporated Organization with a Foundation Model Constitution. The Charity was founded in 2020 by a small group of individuals, each with expert knowledge of emergency search and rescue. Their joint desire was to use skilled trailing dogs to locate missing persons and dogs in Cornwall.
CSD currently has a board of 5 trustees. The Board focuses on its collective responsibility for ensuring the overall direction, effectiveness, supervision and accountability of the Charity. The Trustees have met quarterly to provide strategy and governance and conduct regular overviews of the charity’s activities providing leadership and guidance as required. We once again held our AGM and a Trustees’ ‘away day’ in October 2024.
Each Trustee of CSD also has specific oversight of areas of the Charity and its work. Operational and Training subgroups meet bi-monthly and report to the Trustee’s meetings.
Operational deployments are overseen by an ‘Ops Team’ of 4 trustees who deploy our 4 qualified missing person search dog teams or our 7 dog teams qualified to search for missing pets.
Training and recruitment of search dog teams is led by a designated subgroup of 2 Trustees using a development and training record for existing and new recruits to CSD. During the year, the Charity recruited a further 2 trainee dogs and their handlers. Unfortunately, not all dogs and their handlers are successful in our training programme, but we gratefully acknowledge the commitment of all our trainee dogs and handlers.
Fundraising is led by two Trustees supported by several volunteers. In the past year this team has benefitted from public donations, online auctions, societies, councillor’s events and grant funding, as well as being a nominated charity at sponsored events and donations from organisations and companies.
Our Treasurer has produced the charity income, expenditure and balance sheet which is set out on pages 8-10. Thanks to all our supporters we can report the charity has met its funding objectives for 2023/2024 and is in good financial health.
Funds raised to date have been spent on specialist equipment and clothing for our ‘call out’ teams as well as team training. The charity has also expended funds on materials for marketing and promoting the aims of CSD. Our Leaflets on what to do if your dog goes missing has been distributed to numerous locations including holiday rentals. Aside from training and equipment costs, fuel costs are a significant cost for the charity.
The Board maintains the following policies for Cornwall Search Dogs which are reviewed annually. Health and Safety, Lone Working, Data Protection, Reserves, Safeguarding and Whistleblowing. The Board will continue to develop further policies as required to support the future development of CSD.
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Community
CSD is an entirely volunteer charity. It has no renumerated staff. This year our volunteers have contributed approximately 4,000 hours to the functions of CSD, through search related activities, attending fund raising events and other support or administrative functions.
CSD has attended numerous public events including the Royal Cornwall Show, Stithians Show, Cornwall emergency service ‘Blue Light’ exhibition and local events across Cornwall to further awareness of the charity, as well as seeking new members and donations to support our work. CSD has also featured in several broadcast media shows such as BBC Radio Cornwall, Pirate Radio, Radio Rewind, PBS International TV and BBC spotlight southwest.
Aside from our prime objective of searching for missing persons and canines we have also engaged in other ways with the community here in Cornwall. We have visited schools and community events to deliver presentations and carry out demonstrations. We were delighted to be able to share our activity and knowledge with them and they told us how much they appreciated our hospitality. We also had very positive interactions with charities supporting neurodiverse individuals in the Southwest at the ‘Blue Light’ event in Wadebridge.
We recognise the importance of the Cornish language for our community and a team member has been attending schools and other events to encourage the everyday use of Cornish by all. We have incorporated the Cornish Flag into our clothing branding.
Our social media presence exceeds 5,000 followers on Facebook and our posts are reaching up to 371,000 people. We have followers in numerous countries outside the UK.
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A new resource
This past year has seen CSD gain an invaluable additional resource in the shape of three drones. These drones have been purchased for us by generous donors and in recognition of their generosity we have named the Drones after them so we have ‘Freddie Patrol’, ‘Yora the Explorer’ and ‘Coptrz Kernow’. With three drones we have been able to place them across Cornwall so that they are readily accessible to our searchers when required. The ability to have a view from overhead gives us an extra dimension and the thermal imaging equipment carried allows us to see into areas we cannot enter with our dogs due to operational and or safety concerns. They have also proved valuable in training by giving us a fresh perspective on how our dogs work. We have additionally now formed a Cornish-wide network of drone operators that can be called upon when needed for support.
Yora the Explorer Freddie Patrol Coptrz Kernow
Without our volunteer dogs, handlers and drone pilots our work would not be possible.
Success looks like this!
July 2024 Hayle: a successful trail for Search Dog Tegann. who located lost dog Pippa who had been missing for 18 hours overnight, and who is seen after Tegann found her.
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Supporters and Sponsors
We gratefully acknowledge the following for their support of Cornwall Search Dogs:
Grippy Leads
Yora Dog Food
Fur and Fables
Dicky Bags Coptrz
Rhodda’s
Cornwall Council Charity Fund
Cornwall Community Fund
Ride out for Del.
The Royal Cornwall Show
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Objectives and Activities
CSD is a volunteer service to the community in Cornwall. Our Charitable purposes are described in our Governing Document and are reproduced below.
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The preservation and protection of health and the saving of lives by providing a dedicated and trained emergency search service consisting of appropriately trained dogs and volunteer handlers to assist and support the emergency services and voluntary rescue services in the search and rescue of missing persons in Cornwall.
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For the benefit of the public, to relieve the unnecessary suffering of animals by the search for lost dogs.
This year CSD has again been concentrating on delivering purpose 2, although we have proven the operational credibility of our dogs and their ability to trail human scent for purpose 1.
This past year Cornwall Search Dogs received 48 requests for assistance from Dog Lost Cornwall on behalf of members of the public in Cornwall. As a result of those requests and following assessment of the circumstances of the reported loss, our search dogs attended on 35 occasions, advice being provided where we did not attend. 26 dogs were recovered following action by CSD.
48 requests this year is a slight decrease from 53 last year. However, the Trustees anticipate that demand for services to search for missing dogs will continue in a similar range for 2024/25.
In addition to deploying expert teams of search dogs and handlers, CSD also provides advice and links to mine shaft rescue, local dog trapping and our own drone resources to further assist in the recovery of a stray pet. The charity has established important collaborative relationships, working as a team primarily with Dog Lost Cornwall and other dog welfare groups to ensure our service under purpose 2 is delivered in a timely and appropriate way. We also have relationships with the blue light services in Cornwall including HM Coastguard and the RNLI.
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National Networks
We are delighted that after a few years in development a national register of qualified Lost Dog searchers has been launched. We have been involved with this project since its inception and are delighted that it has now been launched by North K9.
Additionally we are delighted to see more national groups linking up and we have joined them on social media networks wherever possible, such as the Lost Dog Trapping Team – UK Search & Rescue Network.
We remain in good contact with Dog Lost Cornwall whom we liaise with for all call-outs.
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Awards & Recognition
We were delighted to be nominated for a BBC Radio Cornwall Make A Difference award in the animals category. Whilst the team did not come away with the winner’s trophy, being nominated and shortlisted for such an award was a real honor.
Risk Register
Trustees update the Charity risk register every 6 months or sooner if new risk emerges. The Board considers mitigation and risk management and is satisfied that it has addressed these primary risks.
The Trustees consider the following to be its most serious risks.
Unable to recruit, train or retain enough dog teams to match demand for our services.
Mitigations: Maintaining core of 5 fully trained teams.
In 23/24 we attained an operational strength of 4 missing person and 7 missing canine teams. There is a recruitment and training cycle for new recruits every 6 months.
Loss of key personnel
Mitigations: Nominated ‘understudy’ for each Board role and maintain a shared list of critical logins and other access methods.
Loss of social media accounts, ability to communicate CSD’s actvites and associated fund raising opportunites.
Mitigation: We will establish a GDPR compliant freestanding data record to enable direct contact with followers and supporters.
Future
CSD canine search dogs are trained and assessed to criteria provided by Mantrailing Scent Dogs who are accredited by UK Rural Skills. Our qualified missing person search dog teams are additionally accredited by Skills for Justice, through The British Mantrailing Academy. As a result our trailing dogs are nationwide leaders, setting a high standard due to this external training and accreditation program.
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In order to seek excellence and in order to continue our professional development and credibility, the Board has considered sending dog teams to train to the trailing Standard offered by The National Association of Specialist Dog Handlers (NASDU). NASDU is an approved center with HABC (who are regulated by OFQUAL and SQA) for the delivery of accredited training program. The board has additionally trained teams through the Skills for Justice training route. However, without an operational need for these qualifications the board has at this time agreed no further large financial spends on these qualifications until such time as deemed necessary.
Our Strategic Plan for the next reporting year to October 2025 includes further expanding our search dogs team for missing dog searches. Continued engagement with statutory authorities will be carried out as appropriate.
In the next year the Trustees intend to continue plans to form a volunteer fundraising committee, which will help drive funding for the charity in what the Trustees already anticipate will remain a challenging financial period for the charity sector.
We look forward to closer working links with other Lost Dog technical search and rescue personnel.
We look forward to organising our first annual training camp which will form part of essential CPD for our volunteers.
Search Dogs Holly and Tegann attending the 2024 Devon & Cornwall Police Blue Light Day at the Wadebridge Showground.
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| CORNWALL SEARCH DOGS | CORNWALL SEARCH DOGS | CORNWALL SEARCH DOGS | CORNWALL SEARCH DOGS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receipts and Payments Account | ||||||
| Year start date | Year end date | |||||
| For the year from |
11/01/2023 | To | 31/10/2024 | |||
| Receipts and Payments | ||||||
| 2023/24 | 2023/24 | 2023/24 | Last Year | |||
| Unrestricted Funds |
Restricted Funds | Total Funds | Total Funds | |||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |||
| Receipts | 1st Nov 23 - 31 Oct 24 | 1st Nov 23 - 31 Oct 24 |
1st Nov 23 - 31 Oct 24 |
|||
| Donations, Legacies and Similar Income |
||||||
| Just Giving | 1,925.21 | 1,924.21 | 3,849.42 | 1,896.88 | ||
| Public Donations | 1,311.65 | 1,311.65 | 3,319.68 | |||
| Amazon Smile | - | 100.22 | ||||
| Paypal | 501.02 | 501.02 | 1,152.64 | |||
| - | ||||||
| Sub Total | 3,737.88 | 1,924.21 | 5,662.09 | 6,469.42 | ||
| Grants | ||||||
| - | - | |||||
| Cornwall Council Charity Fund | 997.90 | 997.90 | ||||
| Cornish Language Grant | 250.00 | 250.00 | ||||
| Sub Total | - | 1,247.90 | 1,247.90 | - | ||
| Fundraising (gross) | ||||||
| Tins | 222.41 | 222.41 | 528.50 | |||
| Online Auction | - | |||||
| Other Fundraising Activities (inc Quiz) see naration below |
2,305.37 | 2,305.37 | 2,938.08 | |||
| Sale of Merchadise | - | 10.00 | ||||
| Sub Total | 2,527.78 | - | 2,527.78 | 3,476.58 | ||
| Investment income | ||||||
| Bank Interest | 36.42 | - | 36.42 | - | ||
| Bank carried over | - | - | 5,703.00 | |||
| Gift Aid | 349.07 | 330.25 | 679.32 | 1,816.92 | ||
| - | - | - | - | |||
| Sub Total | 385.49 | 330.25 | 715.74 | 7,519.92 | ||
| Total Gross Income | 6,651.15 | 3,502.36 | 10,153.51 | 17,465.92 | ||
| Asset and Investment Sales, etc. | - | - | - | - | ||
| Total Receipts | 6,651.15 | 3,502.36 | 10,153.51 | 17,465.92 | ||
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| CORNWALL SEARCH DOGS | CORNWALL SEARCH DOGS | CORNWALL SEARCH DOGS | CORNWALL SEARCH DOGS | CORNWALL SEARCH DOGS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receipts and Payments Account | ||||||
| Year start date | Year start date | Year start date | Year end date | |||
| For the year from |
01.11.2023 | 01.11.2023 | 01.11.2023 | T o |
31.10.2023 | |
| Receipts and Payments | ||||||
| 2023/24 | 2023/24 | 2023/24 | Last Year | |||
| Unrestricted Funds |
Restricted Funds | Total Funds | Total Funds | |||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |||
| Payments | 1st Nov 23 - 31 Oct 24 | 1st Nov 23 - 31 Oct 24 |
1st Nov 23 - 31 Oct 24 |
|||
| Charitable Payments | ||||||
| Insurance | 809.60 | 809.60 | 263.04 | |||
| Materials and Equipment | 394.95 | 250.00 | 644.95 | 416.78 | ||
| Printing and Photocopying | 7.00 | 7.00 | ||||
| AGM and Trustee Expenses | 860.00 | 860.00 | 162.50 | |||
| External Training Costs | 1,137.23 | 997.90 | 2,135.13 | 1,258.00 | ||
| Travel Expenses | 1,323.45 | 1,323.45 | 4,136.96 | |||
| Admin Fees | 600.00 | 600.00 | - | |||
| Sub Total | 5,132.23 | 1,247.90 | 6,380.13 | 6,237.28 | ||
| Fundraising Expenses | ||||||
| Event Entry Fee | 126.40 | 126.40 | 112.50 | |||
| Marketing and Merchadise Branding and Wreaths |
1,195.24 | 1,195.24 | 325.07 | |||
| Just Giving Fees and eBay | 216.00 | 216.00 | 216.00 | |||
| Sub Total | 1,537.64 | - | 1,537.64 | 653.57 | ||
| Total Gross Expenditure | 6,669.87 | 1,247.90 | 7,917.77 | 6,890.85 | ||
| Asset and investment purchases, etc. |
- | - | - | 2,244.35 | ||
| Total Payments | 6,669.87 | 1,247.90 | 7,917.77 | 9,135.20 | ||
| Net of Receipts/(Payments) | - 18.72 | 2,254.46 | 2,235.74 | 8,330.72 | ||
| Cash Funds Last Year End | 8,325.79 | 8,325.79 | 8,325.79 | - | ||
| Cash Funds This Year End | 8,307.07 | 10,580.25 | 10,561.53 | 8,330.72 |
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| Statement of Assets and Liabilities | Statement of Assets and Liabilities | at the End of the Year | at the End of the Year | at the End of the Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01.11.2023 | 01.11.2023 | 01.11.2023 | Last Year | |||
| Unrestricted Funds |
Restricted Funds | Total Funds | Total Funds | |||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |||
| Cash Funds | ||||||
| Bank Current Account | 5,525.11 | - | 5,525.11 | 8,325.79 | ||
| Bank Deposit Account | 5,036.42 | - | 5,036.42 | - | ||
| Cash/Floats | 50.00 | - | 50.00 | 50.00 | ||
| - | - | - | - | |||
| - | - | - | - | |||
| Total Cash Funds (Agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
10,611.53 | - | 10,611.53 | 8,375.79 | ||
| Other Monetary Assets | ||||||
| Tax claim | - | - | - | - | ||
| - | - | - | - | |||
| - | - | - | - | |||
| Sub Total | - | - | - | - | ||
| Non monetary assets for charity's own use |
||||||
| Stock | - | - | - | - | ||
| Other | - | - | - | - | ||
| - | - | - | - | |||
| - | - | - | - | |||
| - | - | - | - | |||
| Sub Total | - | - | - | - | ||
| Liabilities | ||||||
| Accounts not yet paid | - | - | - | - | ||
| Expenses incurred but not invoiced | - | - | - | - | ||
| Subscriptions not yet paid | - | - | - | - | ||
| Other liabilities | - | - | - | - | ||
| Sub Total | - | - | - | - | ||
| Contingent Liabilities and Future Obligations | ||||||
| Signed by one or two Trustees on behalf of all the | Trustees | |||||
| Signature |
Print Name |
Date of Approval | ||||
| Jenny Pickles | 01.12.2024 |
|||||
| Cheryl Whitford | 01.12.2024 |
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Declarations
The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard for the to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission for England and Wales
The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the Charity’s Trustees:
Jenny Pickles Chair of Trustees Date 1st December 2024.
Tracy Simpson Secretary
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