Now ye're talking - to someone who runs a dog rescue charity

Hello all! Thanks so much for your posts so far... some great questions and observations there!
I'll work my way through them bit by bit, hopefully I can help folks to understand the whole world of dog rescue in Ireland a bit better!
I will say, it's a relatively very small rescue I run compared to some of the big hitters, so I may not have my finger fully on the pulse these days compared to a number of years ago when I'd have been volunteering myself for other rescues as well as running this little one.
I don't involve myself much in any politics that can go on, life's too short!:o
Anyway, here goes!:D

Deleted User wrote: »

Freakily I suspect I might even know who this person is The dates line up anyway!

The time I got into rescue was a real heyday in terms of rescues being set up, in response to shamefully enormous numbers of healthy, unwanted dogs being euthanased in pounds. So there are quite a few of us that have been doing what we do since about the same time

As for a question - does Ireland take in many dogs into our Dog Rescues from other countries? I know from contacts I have in Germany and Spain that they are often taking in dogs from Eastern EU countries where there is less of a structure of support. Or do we tend to focus solely on dogs in our own country?

Anecdotally speaking, I have met a few rescue dogs in Ireland that came from Eastern Europe in recent years, having never come across it before. We seem to mirror what's going on the UK, albeit we often seem to be a few years behind them, but there is certainly a growing number of rescues in the UK dedicated to rescuing dogs from Eastern Europe and Asia.
On the flip side of that coin, Ireland sends a LOT of rescue dogs to the UK, and a smaller number to Scandinavia, particularly Sweden.

What do we do for dogs who have undergone some long lasting psychological trauma? Do we treat them in any way before finding them a home? Or do they go directly to a home? I know my father took in a rescue dog relatively young but even today she is terrified of _everyone_ except him. Whatever her trauma was as a puppy - she has basically never recovered from it. I always wondered what policy is there on such a dog. Can anything be done before homing them? Or do we just try to find the best fit home that will hopefully allow them to cope with those issues.

Good question! There does seem to be quite a wide disparity between different rescues in how they handle rehoming the more difficult or complex dogs. Personally, I feel that owning a dog should be a pleasure for the person who has adopted that dog, or at least, the good times should make the bad times worthwhile!
Different people have different expectations, abilities, circumstances, and commitment when it comes to what they want from a rescued dog, so there are people out there who can take on a more difficult dog that needs work, and there are others who just can't, for whatever reason.
In my opinion, it is wrong to saddle the latter type of person with a problem dog, or with a dog that doesn't tick a lot of their boxes. It affects the bonding process, it causes frustration and resentment, and most importantly of all, it seriously increases the likelihood of that dog being sent back to the rescue, which, for a sensitive, fearful, traumatised dog, is a bit of a nightmare to be honest. It also makes that person far less likely to explore the rescue route again.
So, to answer your question, matching the right dog to the right home is terribly important, as is providing support and back-up directly myself, or by pulling in favours from behaviourist contacts who'll go visit the adopter with their new dog to design a bespoke treatment program for them. But, as a general rule, I will get the more complicated dogs into experienced foster homes, both to get to grips with what's going on with the dog, and to start off the process of trying to repair that dog before he goes off to a carefully selected home, again giving direct support to the fosterer, or if necessary, getting professional help in. Fostering is fab, because it gives me fantastic information about what each dog is like to live with, what he's good at, what he's not, from an unbiased carer.

Rows Grower wrote: »

What are your average running costs per annum?

If you never received another donation how long could you keep doing what ye do?

Hmmm, interesting. Without wanting to go into too much detail, and bearing in mind this is a small rescue which rehomes 30-100 dogs per year, depending on how busy the year is, bills could run into 5 figures. We try to minimise kenneling fees by seeking foster homes, and we twist the arms of vets to get reduced medical care, including vaccination, neutering, microchipping etc. If we get a healthy, unneutered, unvaccinated, unchipped male dog in (castration is cheaper that spaying), and use a foster home, each dog will cost us a minimum of €110. Neither I nor our volunteers charge for their time nor fuel, which keeps the costs right down.

Edited to add: I forgot to answer your second question! At best, a few months is as long as we'd last.

pawrick wrote: »

Do you think animal rescues nationally could do more to work together / share expertise and or equipment where possible at a local level?

Economies of scale seems to be something missing when I look around my own area and see how many rescues overlap with each running different campaigns rather than pooling together.

Choc Chip wrote: »

I feel like dog charities are very disparate and have completely different policies and procedures. I'd love for them to work together but I don't know if that's feasible with so many different personalities involved. Do you think they could ever work together nationally?

Don't get me started
I referred earlier on to a "heyday" in rescue about 17ish years ago, when the national annual figure for euthanasia in healthy, unwanted dogs in Irish pounds was heading for 30,000, so there was a real sense of having to pull together to do something about it.

There was no social media, just one or two dedicated rescue forums where rescues could look for help from other rescues, or from volunteers, and there was genuinely a great sense of community and mutual support across the country. And it worked too... the euthanasia rate fell immediately, and has fallen every year since then, with a concurrent increase in rehoming rates.

But, between the advent of social media, and too many differences of opinion, and perhaps some egos getting out of control, that community pretty much fell apart. It's never been the same since really, although I'll always help out rescues that contact me for help, and I have a good group of contacts across the country that I can call on when I need to. I don't get involved in any silliness, as it's not about us, it's about the dogs.
There is a National Stray Dogs and Cats Forum organised by Veterinary Ireland every few years, where vets, rescues, and other dog related charities get together to discuss issues with unwanted dogs and cats, and what can be done. This is probably the closest we get to a cohesive gathering of rescues these days.

There have been attempts made over the years to at least have some sort of industry standards set, so that members of the public would know that if X rescue was signed up to a central Code of some sort, they'd know what they could expect from that rescue in terms of service, pre-adoption processes, costs, support. But again, the politics of such an idea has made it difficult.

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

What's the bigger challenge, finding enough good homes for dogs or finding enough funding to keep doing what you do?

Another good question that's got me thinking!
Having pondered on it a while, I've concluded that for us anyway, it's funding. Generally, you'll find a home for each dog eventually. Having the moolah to keep a dog in the longer term is always a worry though, and it takes a fair bit of ongoing effort to fundraise. There have been times when there'd be a glut of dogs coming into us all at the same time, all needing money spent on them at the same time... aaaaggghhhh!
This might be different for other rescues though, particularly those that specialise in harder-to-home types/breeds of dogs.

Mrcaramelchoc wrote: »

if i volunteered for a dog rescue charity what would i be doing?ive often thought of doing it but never got around to it.(do you take volunteers?)

Most rescue charities need volunteers to foster, or to drive dogs from A to B, or to do home visits. Larger rescues which utilise kennels will also appreciate people to walk and groom and goof around with their dogs for them. Indeed, some of the pounds will invite people in to walk the poundies... you've got to be fairly steely to do this though, as pounds often aren't nice places to be, and there's that emotional drag of knowing the dog you're walking faces an uncertain future in this setting in some pounds

Choc Chip wrote: »

Thanks for doing this!

I've got a few questions (I foster for a rescue but I imagine running a rescue is a whole other ball game):

What do you think dog rescue charities in general (not you personally) should be doing better?

I feel like dog charities are very disparate and have completely different policies and procedures. I'd love for them to work together but I don't know if that's feasible with so many different personalities involved. Do you think they could ever work together nationally?

Do you think breed-specific or purpose-specific rescues work well?

What do you think the government should be doing?

If someone gave you €16.8 million from a ring-fenced source in the morning, what would you do with it to improve Irish dog welfare?

Oops! I quoted your question about rescues working together above, but I forgot to answer the rest of your questions

What do I think dog charities could be doing better?
Working together, and leaving politics at the door. We all say we want the same thing... to make dogs' lives better, but I dunno, sometimes it feels like it's more about individual people seeking kudos, although I'll add the caveat that the genuinely busy, good rescues are less guilty of this!
I'd also like to see some sort of rescue oversight... some transparent way of ensuring that rescues are adhering to certain standards of welfare and customer care. As it stands, in my opinion there are too many rescue groups doing the same thing but pulling in different directions, and it's too easy for any mentaller to start their own rescue.

Do I think breed-specific/purpose-specific rescues work well?
Generally, yes. The idea behind groups that specialise in one breed is really good, because they know the breed like the back of their hands. It is astonishing how many purebred dogs end up in rescue due to their owners not having done their research (the Siberian Husky I mentioned above is a prime example), and breed-specific rescues tend to be very good at making sure to get it right for the dog the second time around, because of their familiarity with the breed's needs.

What do I think the government should be doing?
This might be a bit loaded... but I'd like if dogs were harder to own, from the point of view that I feel owners should have to demonstrate some level of competence before they can own a dog. It's done in other countries and works really well... no stray dogs, no poop on the footpath, no unwanted litters, and very little surrendering of dogs.
I'd also like to see the abolition of breed specific legislation in favour of placing the onus of responsibility on the owner, regardless of what breed or creed of dog they own, and of course, enforcement of the legislation. I'd hope this would put irresponsible owners off getting a dog in the first place, thus reducing the number of surrendered dogs.
I'd like to see a ban on online advertising of pet animals for sale: easy online advertising has hugely promoted irresponsible breeding, overbreeding, poor welfare, poor health, behavioural issues, irresponsible ownership, and ultimately, dogs being dumped or surrendered.
Also loaded perhaps, I'd like to see some measures put in place to standardise and promote certain standards amongst animal rescue groups.

What would I do with €16.8m?
I'd donate it all to the good greyhound and lurcher rescues in the country
Seriously, I would create lobby groups for the above.
I'd have to think about how, but a major national education and welfare program for collies, and lurchers. Collies must be the most welfare-impoverished of all breeds in the country, much of it due to ignorance I feel. Same for lurchers.
I might have a bit more of a think about this one

VonVix wrote: »

Slightly controversial question possibly, especially as I had worked alongside a rescue for many years! Do you think rescues don't do enough to help promote how to find a good breeder and what to look for (health tested parents, puppies raised inside the home, etc), if an individual is unwilling to rescue or are looking for a specific breed? With puppy farms being so prevalent in this country, do you think better education for the public on breeder vs. rescue would make a difference rather than the general shunning of anyone who wants to go to a breeder?

Thanks so much for doing this AMA!

Thank you VonVix!
A difficult one for me to answer as I'm not sure how other rescues operate in this regard. Personally, I have no issue with directing people to good, reputable breeders, if that's the road they want to take.
I will, of course, try to dispel any doubts they have about rescuing a dog, it works sometimes! But there is a tendency for rescue people to get a bit shrieky at prospective owners for wanting to buy a dog rather than rescue one, and that irks me, particularly if the prospective owner is making an informed choice.
That said, the reality is that it can be bloody hard to find really good breeders, even of the more common breeds. I'd like to see the IKC and breed societies to step up to the plate here, and as attendees at the aforementioned Stray Dogs and Cats Forum, the IKC have been prevailed upon to do so... a meaningful, transparent and trustworthy accredited breeders scheme (as per the UK) would be a good start. At least then, owners would have some way of assessing breeders of their potential pups, because as it stands it's a bit of a minefield.
Similarly, as already mentioned, an accreditation scheme for rescues, for the same reasons. Some rescues are better than others!

boombang wrote: »

Thanks for doing an AMA.

1. To your knowledge why is it that Ireland hasn't been able to control the puppy farm thing? I would have thought it would have been easy to stamp out with a bit it enforcement of animal welfare regs.

This is a HUGE bugbear of mine.
Instead of outlawing puppy-farming when presented with the opportunity, our legislators, in their wisdom, actually legalised it. So now the mass-production of dogs is legal, as long as certain criteria are fulfilled, very few of which relate to animal welfare. The original legislation (the Dog Breeding Establishments Act, 2010) falls far short of pinning puppy producers down on welfare, socialisation, handling of pups etc, but this is hopefully in the process of being somewhat remedied with pressure from Veterinary Ireland, various dog rescue charities (yours truly included), behaviour and training associations.
Here's the rub: the above legislation which puts some manners on puppy farmers in terms of welfare, licensing, accounts etc, only applies to people who keep 6 or more bitches of breeding potential. 6 breeding bitches is quite a big outfit, and the vast majority of small-scale puppy farmers (known in the trade as "back-yard breeders, or BYBs) would keep less than 6 anyway, regardless of legislation.
In my experience, there are more poorly bred pups coming from back-yard breeders in Ireland, than there are poorly bred pups coming from licensed puppy farms, yet these back-yard breeders are not subject to any breeding-related legislation at all! Whilst the breeding legislation is not great, I'd have to concede that it's better than nothing, yet most mass-produced pups don't have the protection even of it.

2. What steps would you like to see taken in order to eliminate this problem?

We should have done what everyone else has done... ban the bloody things. It is a fact, supported by loads and loads of research, that mass-producing pups is anathema to producing well rounded, sociable, good family pet dogs. In addition, as per an above post, place the onus on responsible dog ownership, and a way of allowing potential owners to source really, genuinely good, well bred pet dogs.

Hannibal_Smith wrote: »

Fantastic! We are at the very early stages of thinking about getting a dog. A rescue dog is our first choice. Our kids are 10 and 8 and are great with dogs, but I'd be worried they'd be a bit full on and stress out an already stressed dog.

I keep asking people who have received rescue dogs, but they keep telling us horror stories.

Not sure if those goes a bit beyond what's allowed in the AMAs but any advice you could give would be great. Are we rescue dog unsuitable?

For every horror story you hear, myself (and the good folks in the Animals and Pets Forum!) will give you 10 joyful stories!
There are lots of really good rescues, and there are a few really rubbish ones. The good ones feel the need to be sure that they're going to put the right dog into the right home... if we don't get this right, the dog comes back, and that, quite frankly, is a pain, and not good for the dog.
This means things like application forms and home visits, and maybe having to wait a bit for the right dog. The people who go through the process, and who keep in touch with the rescue pre-adoption, have a great chance of getting a fantastic family pet.
I feel the need to emphasise that although rescue dogs can have issues, many of them are just big eejity eejits, and the transition from old home to new almost goes right over their goofy heads Families with young kids need goofy dogs, because such dogs tend to be resilient, patient, forgiving, tolerant, fun, funny. They might not have had enough training, so their goofyism is in overdrive, but that is easy to fix:)
I think your kids are a great age to get a dog, and going through a good rescue is a great example to them too! A good family dog is the greatest thing for dog-loving kids. You're welcome to PM me at any stage, I would hope to be able to point you in the right direction