January 2021 is a time most of us would probably prefer to forget all about. Another year, another lockdown which saw us all scratching around close to home, looking for ways to keep ourselves and our dogs suitably exercised and amused through the short and gloomy winter days.
Down in Cornwall, “The Boss” and her 20-month-old Bull Lurcher, Bob, were starting to get cabin fever. The previous summer had been one of cancelled camping trips and the pair were continuing to miss their favourite pastime of ‘letterboxing’ which, for those not in the know, is something akin to a game of hide and seek, with enthusiasts up and down the country searching for small, plastic boxes and recording their finds.
With a return to normality nowhere in sight, “the Boss” wanted to do something to lift local people’s spirits and she set to work, little knowing her attempts to amuse a few random strangers would not only change the direction of her life, but also raise thousands of pounds for a charity close to her heart, the Cornwall branch of the National Animal Welfare Trust (NAWT).
“I thought it would be fun to paint a couple of rocks and put them where people might find them, while they were taking their permitted daily exercise, I painted a message on the back of the rocks and placed them where they could be easily seen. Then I took a photo and put it on Facebook, along with a cryptic clue.”
Anyone finding a rock was asked not to keep it, but to relocate it and post a new photo and clue on Facebook, to keep the game going. Well if “the Boss” had expected muted response she was was in for a big surprise.
Suddenly requests were pouring in. “People were asking me to paint bespoke rocks for them and offering to pay for the privilege!” (take a look at our gallery )That’s when she hit on the idea of raising funds for local animal charities and good causes in Cornwall. Things were particularly hard for them, with all fund-raising events cancelled because of the pandemic, so “the Boss” thought she might be able to help out, in a small way, by asking for donations from people either wanting to commission a painted rock to keep or to be sent out to roam.”
And so Bob’s Rocks was born. For the past 4 years “The Boss” has hardly put her paintbrush down. She has actually lost count of the number of rocks that have been painted and a conservative guess would be there are now well over 2000 rocks, slates and bits of wood sitting in living rooms, gardens, and roaming around Britain and overseas.
2023 saw a big change within our fundraising community, the novel popularity of BobsRocks saw our Facebook community grow to over 1400 members/followers . With Lockdown finally lifted, soo many more rescue centres and animal causes were still feeling the after affects, so we decided to spread our wings and try to help many more of these struggling rescue centres and good causes.
Last Chance Hotel
Pawsitive Pets Pet Food Bank
Dog Lost (Cornwall)
Cornwall Search Dogs
K9 Crusaders
