Su Mutch and Sue Corning say it makes dog-walking twice as nice
Firm friends Su Mutch and Sue Corning met in 1979 and now retired, are neighbours for the second time in their lives. This time, they live in adjoining cottages in Newmarket and have even made their gardens into a shared space for themselves and their cats.
They joined Our Special Friends in 2020 after seeing a recruitment notice in a shop window. Both love dogs and had them when young but had not felt it fair to keep them while working, Su Mutch as a hairdresser and Sue Corning in the pig industry. Instead, the friends had always had cats, so the card promised them a very appealing ‘canine fix’. Their current cats are both rescue strays who fear dogs so even now they cannot have or foster canines.
Single, and now in their seventies, the friends assist OSF in several valuable ways. Not that it is the first time they have worked together as volunteers. For about eight years they were both ‘blood runners’, the term used for volunteers who deliver donated blood for the NHS, in their case also taking human baby milk to Rosie Maternity Hospital at Addenbrooke’s. Blood runners are on duty for 12 hours 365 days of the year so there is a possibility of being called out in the night. Su Mutch has now retired from this service.
Their initial activity was walking three dogs for a very disabled client in Mildenhall, until one of the animals died and her son adopted another to help her, where the dog is now happily settled. The friends continue to visit and walk the remaining dog, a miniature poodle named Oscar, who is walked on other days by another volunteer. For a second client they walk Laura, known as the ‘reluctant greyhound’ due to her typically greyhound preference for a less active lifestyle.
“The dogs could not be more different.” said Su Mutch. “Oscar is very lively and full of fun and can’t wait to get out of the door while Laura is a timid, clingy rescue lady who shakes when her lead is put on although she enjoys the outing once she gets going.”
In addition, Su and Sue respond promptly to ad hoc requests from OSF whenever they can. This has including feeding three cats for a client who had to go into hospital, walking a Jack Russell for another, and manning our stands at events including the annual Christmas Lights evening in Bury St Edmunds, a community day in Mildenhall and another at the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket.
“We always try to encourage people to become volunteers”, said Sue Corning, “Even when walking dogs, we wear our OSF badges prominently and are pleased to talk to people who show interest. It’s good to be able to give something back to the community and we enjoy walking anyway, but it’s much more interesting with a dog. We have both been broken-hearted by the loss of our own pets in the past and know how therapeutic it can be for people to be able to keep their pets, especially during difficult times.”
Gardening, membership of a book club and crafting add to the friends’ busy, full lives, and until recently they also managed an allotment. Both have families living in the West Country, and take the time to visit them, but not together. “One of us always stays with our very spoilt puss cats!” said Su Mutch.