Rescue

Rescue Secretary :: Cathriona Hartley
   
Telephone (086) 83-38298
Cathriona Hartley

Persons in Ireland who are interested in placing a rescue wolfhound in their home or helping with rescue work should contact the Secretary.

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IWSOI First Rescue

Things to expect when your first dog comes home
Preventing animal cruelty is a life’s work for Mayo SPCA’s campaigners 

Rescuing or buying a Dog?

Rescuing or Buying a Dog

Puppies and adult dogs have daily needs. The basics are shelter, food and water, grooming, health care, training, exercise and social interaction. The earlier in life you start teaching a pup what is expected of it the better, but the more it has to learn. With an older dog, there may be some bad habits they'll have to 'unlearn'. Early social experiences set the tone for a dog's development into a dependable companion or a destructive nuisance. an>
Some dogs need more time than others do, but every dog requires time for daily interaction beyond just meeting its basic needs. Consider your lifestyle and personality when deciding if a dog would fit into the picture.

Ask yourselves these questions before you commit to buying a puppy or taking on a rescue of any breed.

Why do you want a dog?

How active and busy are you?

What do you do with the dog when you travel or are on vacation?

Do you have young children?

Do you have a fenced garden?

How big is it?

How long at a time will the dog be alone in the home?

Does anyone have allergies? (Find out by first visiting someone else's dog.)

Would you have the time to start with an untrained puppy/would you be willing to re-train an older dog?

What kind of fur and how much grooming/shedding are involved?

What size would fit in?

Purebred? Mixed? Male? Female? Large? Small?
           

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The Mayo Advertiser
Current Publication Date: 23/12/2006

Preventing animal cruelty is a life’s work for Mayo SPCA’s campaigners

by Fiona McGarry

There’s a warm welcome for anyone visiting the home of Ann and Joe Kivlichan outside Kiltimagh — and that’s just of the four-legged variety! Approaching their house, I’m greeted by a bounding Irish wolfhound named Murphy. Hot on his heels is Squidgy, a huge Labrador cross; closely followed by Lassie, a curly haired mix of Spaniel and Terrier. They’re busy investigating the new arrival, and give several yelps of approval, before jostling me to the door. All of them are clearly so happy and healthy, it’s hard to believe each one was rescued from conditions of appalling cruelty.
Inside the home of Ann Kivlichan and her husband Joe, the phone is ringing, as it does almost non-stop [with reports of cruelty cases, but fortunately offers of help]. Joe is philosophical about the frenetic atmosphere. It comes with the territory of being Chairperson of Mayo SPCA. Just over seven years ago Joe and Ann moved to Kiltimagh from Saudi Arabia where the Scotsman and his Nottingham-born wife had spend half a decade in animal rescue. The former telecoms engineer had travelled the world with Ericsson and Ann had left a background in theatre with the intention of “writing a book and retiring”. Joe’s one rule of “no pets and no rescues” was soon broken, when the couple began to come across cases of animal cruelty and abandonment.

During one rescue Ann met Ballyhaunis woman Marian Biesty – described by Ann as “an angel of a person”. Both shared a passion for preventing animal cruelty, and began their efforts with just a shed and broken down car to keep rescued cats in. After two years of working with the ISPCA, the group qualified for affiliation as Mayo SPCA.

From humble beginnings, the organisation now has 153 members around the county, a nine-member committee and one trustee. This year, Joe fulfilled a key goal of getting a purpose built kennels and cattery on lands owned by Marian Biesty’s family, just outside Ballyhaunis. For the volunteers, membership of Mayo SPCA is a huge but worthwhile commitment. Activities range from dog walking to kennel cleaning to fundraising, and there’s a growing number of junior members. The Ballyhaunis facility has just overcome the trauma of the Parvo Virus, greatly assisted by Breaffy vet Vivian Hussey. The committee member, Joe and Ann say, has given unstinting help to Mayo SPCA.

Last month alone, 42 dogs and 36 cats were rehomed by Mayo SPCA. As Ann points out, the organisation’s main role is rescue and cruelty prevention, but rehoming those animals saved is an enormous job. Joe and Ann, like many others involved, have given permanent homes themselves to a number of dogs, cats, chickens, geese and ducks.

Murphy, the wolfhound, was found almost hairless and dangerously underweight. An intensive period of one-to-one contact succeeded in restoring his health, and more importantly, his trust in humans. “I walked him up to seven times a day”, Joe says, patting Murphy’s majestic head. “He also had to be fed up to seven small meals a day. I’ll never forget it, he was so despondent. He would barely raise his head. Even on walks, Joe recalls “then one day, I opened the door for our walk, and he just shot out, leapt into the air and turned 360 degrees.” Clearly, this kind of breakthrough moment is what keeps Joe and Ann going throughout the horrendously difficult cases they often deal with.

This kind of 24/7 work comes at a high cost- both in personal and monetary terms. Joe and Ann admit they would like to retire (as they planned to do seven years ago!), but the numbers of calls keeps increasing. And so does the need for funding.

“We can’t do the work without the money”, Ann says. Mayo SPCA handles around 400 animals every year. Guiding me through the annual accounts for 2005, Ann admits the figures are “quite frightening”. Government grant aid from the Department of Agriculture comes to just €12,000. When you consider that Mayo SPCA spends up to €47 per annum, the shortfall is huge. It is covered by fundraising, donations and sponsorship. Ann and Joe acknowledge the help of major local sponsors such as Horkan’s Petworld who provide great help with food bills. Now however, the end of the year has arrived and Mayo SPCA has just received €10,000 from the Department. This is down by €2,000 on last year’s allocation, and less than a quarter of what the organisation is likely to spend in 2007.

Joe and Ann have seen some horrific cases, and been involved in rescues at all hours of the night, they acknowledge that most cases of animal abuse come about through lack of awareness of an animals needs, a change in family circumstances, illness or other personal difficulty. In the case of farm animals, cruelty cases reported to Department of Agriculture, as authorisation is needed from a vet and the Gardai before any rescues can be carried out.

The situation in Ireland is particularly serious as regards animal cruelty. “This country is now regarded as the puppy-farm of Europe”, Joe explains. “The SPCA in Scotland have now refused to take any more Irish animals until the government takes action to stamp out the practice of illegal dog breeding”. While it’s very much a government obligation, individuals can help. Ann says: “I am pleading and begging people not to buy pups or kittens from anyone, without knowing the conditions in which they were born. Unscrupulous breeders keep animals in horrific conditions, often breeding bitches until their mammary glands collapse and they are just thrown out, or hanged.”

But as Mayo SPCA gears up for the post-Christmas rush, which will kick in as soon as children go back to school, Ann and Joe are still hopeful.

“There is more awareness,” Ann says “the vets tell us things are getting better. Spaying and neutering is the answer.” And there is some good news too. An abandoned Collie Daisie, who recently gave birth to nine pups, has just found a new home in Surrey.

As part of its fundraising efforts, Mayo SPCA will run a monthly lottery from next February. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Kevin or Sybyl on 098-41011.