Charley Chau

13/04/2025

To everyone who took part in the iheartwhippets - in memory of Paola auction - a huge thank you! £12,902 raised for three brilliant sighthound charities! 👏👏👏

The final total of the iheartwhippets - in memory of Paola auction is: £12,902.19
From the auction: £11,886.19
From donations: £1,016.00

The charities will receive:

Greyhound Gap Registered Charity: £5,160.88
JR Whippet Rescue: £5,160.88
Kim's Home for Elderly/Abused Dogs: £2,580.44

A massive thanks to everyone who partied with us by: bidding, donating, watching, supporting the artists and makers and lastly...expressing their love for Paola!

Thank you from Tony, Christine and Fern.

06/04/2025

Just under two hours to go before the iheartwhippets - in memory of Paola charity auction closes at 8pm UK Time. The Ducky Donut Bed we donated is still slightly under retail value so there is still an opportunity to grab a very keenly priced lovely new bed for your dog! The rest of the Charley Chau's in the auction have already exceed retail price so a massive heartfelt thank you to everyone who has bid so far and is helping us to raise so much money for three incredible sighthound charities: Greyhound Gap, JR Whippet Rescue and Kim's Home for Elderly/Abused Dogs!

Full catalogue: https://www.facebook.com/share/14jD8EpJCC/

Wahoo!!! Only two hours left! Click on the link below to bid bid bid.

Full catalogue: https://www.facebook.com/share/14jD8EpJCC/

04/04/2025

Wowsers! As of last night, the iheartwhippets - in memory of Paola charity auction had raised £7,092 in pledges for Greyhound Gap, JR Whippet Rescue and Kim's Home for Elderly/Abused Dogs! Amazing. There is still time to bid - including on 2 Charley Chau Snuggle Beds, a Ducky Donut Bed, a Double Fleece Blanket and a Sherpa Fleece Blanket! Auction closes at 8pm on Sunday!

Full catalogue: https://www.facebook.com/share/14jD8EpJCC/

What can we say?
THANK YOU so much to every single one of you, those who donated a lot, those who have bid, those who have shared the auction catalogue… we could not have come this far without you!
There’s still 3 days to bid! Help us by sharing so we can raise even more funds for Greyhound Gap Registered Charity, JR Whippet Rescue and Kim's Home for Elderly/Abused Dogs.

Auction catalogue: https://www.facebook.com/share/14jD8EpJCC/

28/03/2025

Get ready! The iheartwhippets - in memory of Paola auction starts tomorrow and we hope you'll join in the fun and help us raise lots of money for JR Whippet Rescue, Greyhound Gap and Kim's Home for Elderly/Abused Dogs! There are four Charley Chau lots in the auction, all with a starting bid of just £0.01 so flex those fingers and get ready to bid!

Some incredible artists, designers and makers have donated the most gorgeous creations to this auction - areal testament to Paola's reputation as a fund raiser to help houds in need. Take a look and I can guarantee there will be something in there that you will love!

Auction catalogue: https://www.facebook.com/share/14jD8EpJCC/

Bidding starts at 8.00am tomorrow!

24/03/2025

Oooo .... the first of the Charley Chau beds we've donated to the charity auction in memory of Paola Marra have been loaded into the catalogue! The auction is raising much needed funds for JR Whippet Rescue, Kim's Home for Elderly/Abused Dogs and Greyhound Gap 😍So Lot 06 - a Charley Chau Snuggle Bed (Large size) in Velour (colour of winning bidder's choice) with an RRP of £220 but the starting bid is literally going to be from £0.01! Worth bidding on? We think so!

There are some truly wonderful pieces in the auction by the most incredible designers, artists and makers. Official auction cards are being loaded all this week so keep your eyes peeled for more at iheartwhippets - in memory of Paola!

22/03/2025

The charity auction in memory of Paola that I mentioned earlier this week starts one week today! Head on over to check out some of the beautiful pieces donated and follow for more info in the build up ❤️

The iheartwhippets - in memory of Paola auction starts March 29th and runs until April 6th. All money raised will go to JR Whippet Rescue, Greyhound Gap and Kim's Home for Elderly/Abused Dogs. Please follow along to bid on some gorgeous items donated by wonderful artists and makers!

20/03/2025

A celebratory post in memory of a beautiful person ... it's exactly a year ago today that Paola Marra passed away. Paola was an extraordinary woman, and many of you knew her as the founder of iheartwhippets and her legendary charity auctions. We were lucky enough to work with Paola as part of our team and sadly, she was diagnosed with cancer for the third time whilst she was with us.

Last year at Paola's memorial I met up with Fern, a good friend of Paola's, and Paola's brother Tony, and between us we came up with an idea … one last auction - in memory of Paola - to celebrate Paola and everything she did to raise money for Sighthounds in need.

So, on 29 March, on what would have been Paola's 55th birthday, there will be one last auction to raise money for Kim's Home for Elderly/Abused Dogs , JR Whippet Rescue and Greyhound Gap. And we will of course be donating some of our lovely Charley Chau beds and blankets to join this celebration of Paola and everything she did for dogs in need.

Head on over to iheartwhippets - in memory of Paola and follow the page! There are already heaps of gorgeus items that have been donated by other designers and artists and we hope you will join us in celebrating Paola's life ❤

13/03/2025

Had to share and do a big proud dog mom brag - handsome Brutie at Crufts last week ❤ While he placed second in his class on the day, I couldn't be more proud of this boy. His first championship show was in May 2022 when he was already 11 months old and he won his first CC that month. His second CC came in June. Then he won his 3rd CC and his UK Champion title in July, still only 12 months old. Brutie finished his debut year in 2022 as the Top Male IG in the UK. In 2023 he made history by becoming the first IG to gain a US Champion title in one day, plus Brutie gained his US Grand Champion title, and despite being away alot, he finished the year as Top IG in the UK overall. And then to 2024 - we didn't show very much and yet he still managed to finish as the Top Male in the UK. 3 years in a row Top Male IG in the UK with Top IG overall in 2023. Wow. It's mind boggling really. He'll be 4 in June so we're going to be taking it a lot easier now - the boy done good 😍

10/03/2025

Ray’s first official photoshoot for Charley Chau! We were asked last week for photos of our Ducky Donut Bed in Weave II by a very big name in news and Ray volunteered for her first modelling assignment ❤️ Fingers crossed Ray will make her first media appearance soon 🤞🤞🤞

09/03/2025

Just settling down ready for best in show and realised I’d not posted an update on Crufts! Little Brutie showed on Friday and he did a good job and was awarded 2nd in his open dog class ❤️ Ray came along to experience the whole Crufts vibe and we had a little practice in the hall when it was quiet later in the day. For a young pup she coped really well with the crowds and other dogs so hopefully this little monkey will be there next year as a competitor! So Best in Show … come on the Whippet 🤞🤞🤞❤️❤️❤️

05/03/2025

A bit of dog trivia for all dog lovers the night before Crufts ... the oldest native Toy dog breed in the UK is the English Toy Terrier (ETT) and ETTs are now on the The Kennel Club UK's vulnerable native breed list with only around 100 puppies registered each year - compared to 38,000 Labradors last year.

In Victorian times, ETTs were grouped as Black and Tan Terriers and the Black & Tan breeders used various breeds including the Italian Greyhound to give the Black and Tans more elegance! Makes sense as the breed standard for Italian Greyhounds specifically mentions black and tan colouring is not allowed for IGs and I suspect the two things are linked. Anyway, Black & Tan Terriers went on to be classified as today's Manchester Terriers and the smaller English Toy Terrier.

The reason for the ETT nerdiness is because I've been geeking and helping the English Toy Terrier Black and Tan Club build a new website to showcase the breed, and today they got some lovely and much-needed press coverage (https://uk.news.yahoo.com/uks-oldest-toy-dog-breed-105657906.html) to help raise awareness of the fact that ETTs even exist.

Take a look and tell your friends about this beautiful breed to help spread the word about this endangered British dog! Here's Zowie the English Toy Terrier enjoying one of our Snuggle Beds - you guessed it - they're burrowers too!

Find out more at www.english-toy-terrier-club.com

And do visit the English Toy Terrier stand at Discover Dogs at Crufts - Hall 3, stand TY11 if you're going along to Crufts ❤

01/03/2025

Sorry we’ve been quiet on Facebook over the last couple of weeks. A lot going on as we’re still trying to hire into the team so Jenny & I are covering everything plus trying to do interviews 🥵

I managed to get to a local open show today with Ray though - exactly 6 months old today. She was a cheeky monkey and just about stood on the table and managed to walk around without jumping up too much 🤣 She was the only puppy entered so a default best puppy in breed for her first show 😍

Hope you have a fab weekend!

30/01/2025

👀 To flea or not flea?! A really interesting article in the Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jan/29/vets-urged-to-cut-back-on-flea-treatments-amid-uk-biodiversity-fears) on the impact of spot-on flea treatments on small birds, insects and other wildlife. Basically, the spot-on treatments used on dogs contain strong pesticides (some of which are banned for agricultural use but not in pet meds) and the chemicals are getting into our waterways with serious environmental consequences. The University of Sussex have been researching this issue for several years now. They’re calling for vets to take a more risk-based approach when advising on the use of these spot-on treatments. Lavender Oil, Garlic Oil, Neem Oil are just a few natural alternatives that keep fleas/ticks away without having to use the harsh chemicals in spot-on treatments. Worth considering 👍 More on alternatives on the IG Rescue website here: https://italiangreyhoundrescuecharity.org.uk/about-italian-greyhounds/safe-flea-tick-prevention/

If you use a natural alternative for flea/tick/mite prevention please let us know what it is in the comments - always good to know ❤️

(Photo of Ray just cos she’s cute 🤣)

24/01/2025

Wowsers, time flies! It’s exactly 5 years today that Jenny and I were named Family Business Entrepreneurs of the Year at the Great British Entrpreneur Awards! Crazy! ❤️🍾❤️

23/01/2025

We got some feedback that we could do a better job of explaining about Charley Chau overall because people land on our website and then go straight off to product pages but don't necessarily get info on what makes Charley Chau beds so special. So I made an intro page last night and I have put it on our website. If you have time to take a look and give me some feedback I would be very grateful! ❤ The intro is here: https://www.charleychau.com/collections/an-introduction-to-charley-chau-luxury-dog-beds

Photo of Ray just for cuteness! 😍

19/01/2025

Ray in training ❤️ Friday was ringcraft where she’s doing good on socialisation - also known as cuddles from humans 🤣 And today was obedience class #2 - Ray managed to stay awake and we did some polite meet and greets with other puppies of different breeds ❤️

15/01/2025

A sad day for us at Charley Chau … lovely Chloe who has been responsible for managing our order dispatch for the last 3 years is moving on. Chloe has been the engine running the show quietly behind the scenes and made sure our customers get their orders on time!

Chloe, a huge thank you from Jenny and I for all your hard work over the last few years and for being so fabulous. We wish you every success in your new job. And Daisy - the nutty JRT - we will miss you too! ❤️❤️❤️

It’s not goodbye though really - we’ll definitely catch up soon x x x

13/01/2025

Dear Everyone,

Today I didn’t do a single puddle inside!

x Ray