Monty the Magnificent

In our last post, you met the amazing Monty! Sadly, Monty is still with us here at the Rehoming Centre, but we're hoping you'll help us change that! 

Monty has been with us since he was about 3 months old and he's about 8 months old now. As we mentioned in our previous post, he has a condition called Megaesophagus which means that the pipe his food travels down to his tummy, doesn't work like it should. 

Initially Monty needed to be fed from a height, and to be held upright immediately after for a period of 20 minutes. This was to allow for the safe passage of food to his tummy. Monty had surgery in UCD, his chest was opened to repair the connection between his mouth and stomach and he healed very well afterwards. 
Now Monty still needs to eat his food from a height, but doesn't need to be held at all afterwards!!! Hooray :)

Monty knows exactly where he gets his dinner! :)

We would love to find this young man his forever home - he truly deserves it after all he has been through. Monty comes with his fancy chair which we custom built for him, so potential owners would just need to be able to shower him with love and attention! 

We absolutely guarantee that Monty will be the most amazing addition to his new family.

If you think you can offer Monty the dedicated home he needs and deserves, please get in touch! You can call the centre on 01 879 1000 or pop in and say hi! Our address is:

Dogs Trust

Ashbourne Road

Finglas

Dublin 11

Monty

An extra special boy, looking for an extra special home...

Breed: Alaskan Malamute cross

Gender: Male

Age : 4 months

Colour : Black with grey socks

I Like: Playing with my toys

My name is Monty and I’ve been told that I’ve stolen the hearts of all the staff at Dogs Trust.

I think they just love me a little bit more because I require extra special care. I suffer from a condition called megaesophagus.  When the oesophagus (food pipe) is functioning properly, food moves from the mouth to the stomach within seconds. In megaesophagus, there are issues with nerve and muscle functioning, as a result the food does not always reach my stomach. Food can build up causing me to regurgitate, it’s quite serious as it can lead to a lack of nutrients and aspiration pneumonia, which can have fatal consequences.

The vets have explained everything to me and unfortunately there’s nothing they can do, other than help me to manage my condition.

It’s been a bit scary but the staff have designed an amazing high chair so I can stand and eat from a tray in front of me. As soon as I see it, I know it’s time to eat! What’s even better is that I have to be held upright for 20 minutes after eating, which means lots of extra cuddles from the canine carers!

Monty's special box!

Despite my eating concerns I’m a really a happy puppy and I enjoy all the usual stuff like playing fetch and getting up to mischief! I need a dedicated owner with the patience and confidence to undertake a special needs dog and in return I promise to be a loyal and loving best friend!

If you think you can offer Monty the dedicated home he needs and deserves, please get in touch! You can call the centre on 01 879 1000 or pop in and say hi! Our address is:

Dogs Trust

Ashbourne Road

Finglas

Dublin 11

Dogs Trust and DoneDeal co-operate on responsible pet advertising

We are very pleased to announce that following detailed correspondence with the team at the DoneDeal, they have agreed to make a number of key, ground-breaking changes in their terms and conditions when advertising dogs on their website.

As part of their ongoing commitment to responsible pet advertising Donedeal.ie have agreed to the following measures:

• A Dogs Trust digital banner has been placed over all advertisements for dogs between now and Christmas 2013 asking people to think very carefully about the responsibilities of dog ownership and not to purchase a dog as a Christmas gift.

• All dog advertisements will be prohibited in the weeks running up to Christmas 2014. Regretfully contractual restrictions for Done Deal meant this could not be achieved for Christmas 2013 but we welcome the website’s commitment for next year

The reality is that the online sale of dogs  is here to stay. However Dogs Trust is acutely aware of the need to manage and control the influx of inappropriate pet advertising particularly during the busy Christmas season.

We, along with our animal welfare colleagues and vets are working towards a unified approach with this message and are currently working on establishing an Irish based Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG) working to promote responsible pet advertising across all platforms.

Introducing Otis!

Hey friends and followers! Let me introduce myself. I’m Otis and I’d like to tell you a little about myself. 

Otis - so named after the great, Mr Otis Reading :)

Back in 2011, when we were about 15 weeks old, my brothers and sisters and I arrived at Dogs Trust from the pound. We were all in pretty bad shape but I think I was the worst off.

I had this thing called Ringworm, all around my eyes and legs, and patches of my skin were raw and very sore. My hair started to fall out too. I made sure to let my carers know that it really hurt when they picked me up, and they organised to get me the right medicine from my friend, Renagh the vet.

We’re pretty good friends at this stage, myself and Renagh. She has helped me so much during my time here. She cleaned my sores, and then when I got a bad bout of doggie dermatitis, she was the one who did the surgery to remove the tips of my ears and my tail too. She also organised a special diet for me, to help my hair grow back. I make sure to give her lots of licks and waggy tails when I visit her in the vet suite, so she knows that I appreciate all she does.

I’m still recovering and I’ll need regular check ups to make sure I’m on the right track. My brothers and sisters have long since found their forever homes, and I’m really ready for it to be my turn now! My carers here at Dogs Trust do so much for me, I know they won’t stop until they find me the perfect family!

In the meantime, you can help them to help dogs like me by donating as little or as much money as you can. You can do it online through our website, over the phone, through Facebook or you can even pop a cheque or postal order in the post for us!
You can also join our Facebook event, which tells you of some of the different things you could donate to the centre such as bedding, toys and treats - to help make the lives of the dogs even better while they’re here in the centre.

Make sure to check back to Facebook and this blog regularly to keep up with my adventures. And next week, I will be introducing you to one of my other special friends! Stay tuned!

Over and out,

Otis 

WIN - A signed Leinster Rugby Jersey!

We have a fantastic opportunity for all you rugby enthusiasts! 

We have gotten our paws on a signed Leinster rugby jersey which has been beautifully mounted and framed and we are auctioning it off to raise money for our Rehoming Centre.

This is a fantastic prize and would make an ideal Christmas present for that special person in your life, or you may want to keep it all for yourself! :)

To place your bid, head on over to our website and fill in the form. It's easy peasy!
http://www.dogstrust.ie/az/s/silentauction/default.aspx
The auction will run from 12pm on Monday 4th November until 12pm on Friday 15th November.
We'll announce the winning bid on November 18th 2013 when the person has been contacted and all monies have been collected.

Don't forget we also have our gorgeous vintage-style Christmas cards for sale on our website too! They can be found here http://www.dogstrust.ie/giving/christmascards/default.aspx

Happy bidding everyone!!

Dogs Trust International - Ali's Trip to Bulgaria

Some of you may or may not be aware that as well as the work we are doing here in Ireland and over in the neighbouring UK, Dogs Trust provides practical assistance to animal welfare organisations around the world, who are striving to make meaningful and lasting improvements to dog welfare in their own communities. You can read more about these projects on our International website https://dogstrustinternational.com

Recently, one of our Training and Behaviour Advisors, Alison Ramsay, was afforded the opportunity to travel to Bulgaria and lend a hand at a dog shelter in Sofia..

Here's what she had to say about the experience:

I recently had an amazing opportunity to travel to Sofia, Bulgaria to
help with a four day behaviour workshop. Twenty five delegates from all
over Bulgaria took part in the workshop hosted by Dogs Trust and Animal
Rescue Sofia. The workshop involved two days of understanding the theory
behind our dogs behaviour, followed by two days of practical
demonstrations in Animal Rescue Sofia's Shelter.
The shelter is the largest in Bulgaria and houses 500 dogs. It is
staffed by a maximum of 5 carers each day - this means that each person
is responsible for 100 dogs! The dogs are predominantly street dogs that
have been picked up due to being poorly or considered a pest to the
local community. The Shelter receives no state funding and is completely
reliant on the money they raise from donations and support from
organisations such as Dogs Trust.
The attitude and dedication of the people who work with the stray dogs
in Bulgaria is truly inspiring. They have an overwhelming amount of work
ahead to try and improve the welfare of the streets dogs that are
commonly seen as vermin but they are unfailing in their determination
and passion. Not only are Animal Rescue Sofia micro-chipping,
vaccinating and neutering all dogs (stray or owed) free of charge, they
are finding loving homes for these dogs all over Europe and Bulgaria and
constantly seeking to understand the animals in their care.
The workshop was really well received and everyone was keen to ask
questions and put themselves forward to work with the dogs at the
Shelter during the practical days training.

I consider myself so lucky to have been given the opportunity to go to
Bulgaria. The idea was that I would be able to share some of my
knowledge with the delegates but I came away having had an amazing
experience meeting some fantastic people and dogs.

Here's some pics of the pooches Ali met on her trip

Huge thanks to those of you who are so supportive of our work.
For more information on the different ways you can help suppport the work of Dogs Trust, follow this link to our website  - how you can help



xx

Super Floyd saves the day!!

Here at Dogs Trust, we are super proud of all our dogs. Whether they still live here with us or have gone to their forever homes, we just think they are all amazing! 

Rascal, a 3 year old Rottweiler cross, came to us last August. He was a super clever boy who knew how to sit and give the paw, and would give his carers a big wag anytime they passed his kennel. We were thrilled to find him the perfect home last October with his new family, Lawrie and Paul, who renamed him Floyd.

Lawrie emailed us recently with a heart-warming story about Floyd. Paul and Floyd were out walking along the footpath at the back of Crumlin Hospital when Floyd became very alert and attentive towards the direction of the park across the road. He is always well behaved on the lead so this was unusual and Paul let Floyd lead him 150 meters into the park and stood to attention with his back to a gentleman who had fallen the ground, bringing Paul's attention to him. The gentleman was a local man in his late 60's and said that he had been there for at least an hour.

An ambulance was called and the paramedics felt that the gentleman may have suffered a dizzy spell and took him to casualty for assessment. This was very late at night, but no doubt they will come across the gentleman again and he will certainly recognise Floyd!

Lawrie says of Floyd:

 “He is so gentle when playing with the local kids that he brings the game down to suit little ones. All the neighbours can't believe we haven't had him since he was a puppy. He's a very intuitive dog. The cat loves him now, which thrills him & freaks him out in equal proportions.
Thanks again for saving him. He's rewarding that back big time!”

We are so thrilled to hear that this gorgeous boy has hit the jackpot with his forever family, and that he is now a familiar face in his local community!

The superhero himself!

If you have any stories about your dog, feel free to share them in the comments below :)