Animals in Need Donegal have welcomed the opening of a special hub for rehoming rescue dogs.
The hub has been provided to the AIN by the Dogs Trust after 12 years of the charity struggling to care for all the unwanted dogs that come their way.
AIN rescued 300 dogs from the local Pound in 2017 and hundreds more were surrendered to their care. The numbers grew so large that they had to rent a premises to cater to the pooches. A successful appeal to Dogs Trust has led to the national welfare charity taking over the rental costs, bringing much relief to AIN.
AIN said they were delighted that the Dogs Trust came on board 6 months ago to help with the rehoming of the hundreds of dogs that they save annually.
This rescued Foxhound had 11 puppies
Prior to this, many of the dog rescues were carried out by dedicated volunteer Anne, who collected the unwanted dogs from the Pound every Saturday, fostered numerous dogs and transported them to the hub or to the vets if they were sick.
An AIN spokesperson said: “With nearly 300 dogs rescued from the local Pound last year plus hundreds more surrendered, we had to rent a premises to cater for all these dogs. Luckily we found a registered boarding kennel in Donegal that met our requirements and was run by a wonderful lady who has rescued many animals herself and she agreed to facilitate us.”
The boarding kennel had to be registered by the County Vet for Donegal County Council. It also had to be Bali-registered by the Department of Agriculture as a hub for AIN and meet the necessary requirements. The hub served as a place for dogs to stay before being rehomed in the UK.
Passported dogs heading off to new lives
AIN said “After 12 years of struggling on and the number of animals needing help rising every year, the founder member of AIN appealed to the Dogs Trust to set up a hub in Donegal and after many meetings and correspondence with that wonderful organisation, they agreed to come to our assistance and help with the Pound dogs and the dogs surrendered to us. Accordingly, the hub that we were renting was taken over by the Dogs Trust 6 months ago.”
Elderly dogs are rescued too
The spokesperson said: “AIN are extremely grateful to the Dogs Trust for the help they are providing. Most of the dogs are now vaccinated and microchipped prior to leaving the Pound and this is paid for by the Dogs Trust. The dogs are then signed over to us.”
“We appreciate that Charlie, the County Vet, cooperates with AIN and the Dogs Trust. We would like to thank Gary who looks after the dogs so well while they are in the Letterkenny Dog Shelter and the two dog wardens, Sam and Jackie, who are always helpful when called upon.2
“We would also like to thank the fosterers, past and present, who do such a wonderful job looking after the poor dogs, so many of whom are broken in spirit. Thank you for the love and care you give them, especially the old dog who is left in the Pound and forgotten about when his long working life is over and he is no longer earning his keep. AIN comes to the rescue of such dogs, whether they be big or small, blind, lame or neglected.”
“Thank you to our unpaid volunteers including Donal, who is constantly on the road driving the AIN van all over Donegal and to the ladies who run the charity shops, without which we couldn’t manage financially.”
The spokesperson concluded: “Finally, we would like to say a very big thank you to the various organisations that support our work, to the public who are so generous when we are fundraising and to everyone who helps us to help them.”
The volunteers of AIN rescued almost 900 animals in Donegal last year, mostly cats and dogs but also rabbits, guinea pigs, sea birds, cockatiels, turtles, tortoises, seals and any other animal that needed help.
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