SearchDog

I recommend Simon Whitehead architects! We used his practise for design and project supervision on our loft and whole house refurbishment. This project required not only Southwark planning, but also Dulwich estate permission. Knew his stuff, had great ideas, understands family life having kids himself, and out of the five architects I interviewed seemed to get what I wanted much more than the others.

We also use the neighbourhood vet and find it very good. All staff are really pleasant and the vets and nurses are skilled and its fairly easy to get an appointment!

HI, We installed underfloor heating throughout our entire house. The house is Edwardian (and so not solid floor), but there are also systems for suspended floors (insulation sit in mesh between the joists then a ply subfloor with groves in which the pipes run is laid). It works really well in our house free up the walls and actually our bills are much reduced and are lower than the average house of the same size. In winter we maintain our house at a constant temperature rather than cycling up and down.

Hi Charlie, South East London Search and Rescue could keep you busy!! We search for missing vulnerable people. We train every other weekend in SE London. We are also training some search dogs locally and can always do with volunteers to hide for us. Check out the website : www.selsar.org.uk Or if your interested in helping train the local dogs please pm me! Thanks!!

We use Banhams (actually their subsidiary Tara Security) and I find their service excellent. They installed an entire security system for us and they service it every year. We've had no issues so far with false alarms & everything seems to work reliably. There are several options regarding being linked up to the police, panic alarms, and they offer a key holding service too, so if something happens and you can't get home then they have someone who can attend (this even includes households with dogs- something I was concerned about initially). I guess the service isn't cheap but then I am very happy with how its all working and highly recommend them. However, I don't have any comparisons as we've only ever used Banhams including my previous properties. They also do very good lock systems.

Azalea, We follow the BARF diet (biologically appropriate raw food, sometimes know as bones and raw food) (lots of info available for research) although I like to think of giving my dog a non processed diet. So she has meat, bones and offal (80%, 10%, 10%). I don't give weight bearing bones (apart from the occasional marrow bone) but mainly chicken/ turkey bones, lamb ribs and these really help to keep her teeth clean. The husband says the dog has a better diet than us and he's probably right. I like to think it keeps her in tip top condition and this is really important to me as she's a trainee search and rescue dog. I can also recommend a raw feeding support group on Facebook who are balancing and not too 'preachy' to help you if you have any questions.

Hi Louise, We may be able to help you out. I'm slightly bemused as your dog is my name sake (Marnie- is how I spell it). I am training 2 dogs for search and rescue and so have a very good idea of dog behaviours etc. I've had my own challenges with my dog (she is a herder and resource guards me) but I'd say we are in a much better place now. So I'd have to know more about your particular situation and issues before I would risk an introduction. However, the other dog I help train belongs to my friend and is a very lovely dog who would probably may make a good first introduction (if my friend agrees), and then if that goes well we could try her with my dog whose more of a 'strong character'. It might be worth your trainer supervising introductions? would they be willing to do this? Who are you training with? Cheers

I have thought long and hard about commenting on this post but have chosen to do so due to the high level of hits with the hope of something good coming from something thats very tragic. As you may know (or not) from my previous postings, I am a search and rescue volunteer with the South East London Search and rescue team (SELSAR). We search for missing vulnerable people in collaboration with the police. I'd like to offer condolences to the family of this person should they be reading this. Events like this are devastating for the family and I have witnessed this first-hand several times in my capacity as a search and rescue volunteer. However, I am always surprised by the grace and gratitude a family conveys despite tragic circumstances. And to all other readers, I wish to share some insights with hope of perhaps saving a life at some point in the future. You do not have to wait for 24 hours to report a person missing to the police- this is a myth you often see on tv police shows. The police can mount a search immediately for a missing vulnerable person. A vulnerable person is someone who may despondent and may be at risk of suicide, an elderly or infirm person,someone suffering from dementia, a child or anyone who could be considered at risk in other ways. The police will then call upon SELSAR (in our area)to help search for that person. There is often very high chance of successfully finding them alive and well. We are specially trained to deal with whatever situation we find including prevention of suicide. Take care of your loved ones!! and if one person remembers this posting at some point in future that helps them find a missing family member it will not have been a waste!! Thanks

And the Clockhouse is dog friendly- you have to sit in the front part but they bring a dog bowl and often biscuits!!!!

The dog and I go out locally and find lots of places are dog friendly. In fact, we find that any place considered 'child friendly' tends to be dog friendly too. Here are some suggestions slightly further afield than East Dulwich for eating/drinking but that means the dog gets a better walk!!! We've just had breakfast this morning at the Brockwell Lido cafe- you have to sit outside on the terrace (but that's the best spot anyhow). We love Belair house (now its under new management) and dogs are welcome in the bar and you can order off the restaurant menu as well as the bar menu. My dog is always made a fuss of and has even been welcome on jazz night whilst I enjoy the odd cocktail... The Rosendale (West Dulwich) allows dogs in the bar, the Paxton has an area for dogs, and the Florence also dog friendly (and all are good for eating). My husband and I often take our dog away for weekends and we find the 'posher' the hotel- the more dog friendly and that works well for me!!!

I am also looking for volunteers to help train my search dog. Training can be done locally and will involve my dog finding you as you hide from us. Please reply to this message if you are interested in training a valuable resource that might be used to find one of your loved ones !

Its not great for dog swimming locally! So I take my dog to Danson Park (Bexleyheath) where there is an amazing lake for swimming (and a pub for drying out after before getting back in the car). We go to the dog swimming pond at Richmond park (make sure you get the right pond as dogs aren't allowed in the others) and wimbledon common (take the train there and walk up through the village)there are two lakes and only one is good for dog swimming but I can't remember the name of it- the other pond is full of yuk and you wouldn't want Fido in there. Foots cray meadows has a river where dogs can get a paddle in a few spots but watch out for the nature reserve area as dogs aren't allowed in the water at that particular spot. Lastly a fellow dog walker has mentioned that Morden Hall Park has water and its good for a paddle on a hot day- I haven't tried this yet. Enjoy!!

Hi Everyone, I posted an event in the what's on section regarding recruitment of new people to South East London Search and Rescue (SELSAR) which will be held on the 21st September Joydens wood-transport available from Bexley station. Please email [email protected] for more details. I thought some forum-ites might want to hear a little bit more about what the organisation does. South East London Search and Rescue (SELSAR) is a search and rescue organisation run by volunteers who search for missing vulnerable people. Vulnerable people go missing for all sorts of reasons. They can be confused elderly people suffering from dementia who wander out of their care home, people with mental health issues (particularly those at risk of suicide) or they can be young people who are distressed and at risk or lost young children. In such circumstances, the police will call upon our team to plan and operate a search to help locate them quickly before they come to harm. Our team consists of highly trained searchers and specialist dogs and resources are deployed depending on what is appropriate for the situation. The organisation covers the boroughs of Southwark, Greenwich, Bromley, Lewisham and Bexley but as we are the only search and rescue team in London we are also available to help in other London boroughs. I live in Dulwich and joined the organisation about 10 months ago and can honestly say its one of the best things Ive ever done. In addition to the great personal reward of saving lives, Ive met a lots of new friends and feel a real connection to the community. You may see me walking my trainee search dog in the local parks- she's coming along nicely with her training, but we still have the odd moment of naughtiness.... Volunteers come from all walks of lives from retired police officers, shop keepers, school teachers etc. and anyone over the age of 17 can join. We are actively recruiting people at the moment so Im trying to get the word out to those who might be interested. If anyone out there has any questions please get in touch and Ill try to answer. If you are interested in joining you can email the address above or reply to this message and Ill get details to you. Thanks