'No two days are the same' - Life in three of Ireland's underfunded animal rescue centres
Rescuing animals on the brink of death, rehabilitating them after they've been neglected, abused, betrayed by their owners... it's a tough job.
There are those who think it's all sunshine and happiness for people running and volunteering at animal shelters, that their days are filled with joy and cuteness and belly rubs with fluffy puppies, but the reality is very different.
While there are undoubtedly good times, and playful moments, staff work long hours, constantly struggle to make ends meet, and find themselves bearing witness to appalling acts of human cruelty.
Those working in this area say it takes a huge emotional toll, but that they are kept going by their love of animals and an overwhelming desire to do good.
It's the same story every time
For Marie O'Connor, Manager of Limerick Animal Welfare, dealing with the aftermath of cruelty is an all-too-regular occurrence.
"In the last few weeks alone we have seen numerous lurchers coming through our doors. It's the same story every time – starving, mange, fleas, injured, nails overgrown, worms," she said.
One was shot and had more than 50 pellets embedded in her body. Two lurcher puppies, Hero and Blue, were found nearly frozen to death only one week apart.
But it's not only dogs that are on the receiving end.
"There has also been an increase in the number of calls to help kittens," said Marie.
"The cattery has homed more than 308 cats and kittens this year. They have treated cats with broken legs, broken pelvis, eye injuries, missing lips… all of which were successfully treated and repaired."
While cruelty abounds, neglect and ignorance are also huge issues.
Lisa O'Donovan, ISPCA inspector for the Cork area, sees neglect on an ever-increasing basis.
A recent case she dealt with revolved around a tiny little pony called Romeo.
"He definitely was the smallest equine I have ever dealt with. I was able to carry him in my arms, he was that small," recalled Lisa.
"When I went to investigate a report that I had received, I was totally horrified to find him living at a property where his owners had no idea how to care for him. This little guy was in a garage and was given a little bowl of cow’s milk to drink. He was far too young to be away from his mother and he would have most certainly died from the lack of nutrition."
Thankfully, Lisa was able to step in to prevent Romeo's suffering. He is currently housed at the ISPCA Equine Rehabilitation Centre in Mallow.
Over in Wexford, meanwhile, at the Seal Rescue Ireland facility at Courtown, volunteers have their hands full with animals injured as a result of ignorance.
"This year has sadly seen many injured seals. A particular instance was a grey seal pup named Maple, rescued in October. She arrived with many lacerations on her small body from head to tail," revealed Executive Director Melanie Croce.
It was determined that she had been attacked by a dog that had been allowed loose on the beach where she had been resting. Her wounds were badly infected leading to sepsis and she passed away after 12 days of care regardless of our team’s desperate efforts.
"It is very sad to lose seal pups from preventable dangers like dog attacks."
Seals passing away is, of course, the hardest part of the job.
"Sometimes seal pups arrive too injured or fragile to survive no matter what we do... and this is the reality of any animal rehabilitation work. This is why such a large part of our work is to promote the protection of wild seals to reduce the amount of animals requiring rehabilitation in the first place."
Melanie advised pet owners to read up on seals and, above all else, to keep their dogs on a lead while walking along the coast, as seals on land are very vulnerable and can be injured easily - even by dogs that don't intend to harm them.
It helps us through the bad days
With so much sadness all around, how do those working in animal rescue find the strength to carry on?
The answer, it seems, lies in the success stories.
For Marie in Limerick, seeing an animal recover and eventually go to a new home is what keeps her in the job.
"Whether it is the kitten you hand fed from a few days old, the puppy that was found frozen you were sure wasn’t going to make it through the night, or what once was a terrified dog that is now relaxed and fear free in their new home... This is the most rewarding part, it helps us through the bad days," she said.
If you can support the #ISPCA this #Christmas by making a life saving #donation so we can help even more animals like Beauty & Casper, please visit our secure website here https://t.co/9evj5zQsFR
— ISPCA (@ISPCA1) December 20, 2019
Thank you so much🐾🐾#Christmas #givingback #CharitableGiving #KindnessAtChristmas pic.twitter.com/UYswCwmds9
At the ISPCA, Lisa finds hope in both her ability to remove pets from cruel or neglectful homes and in educating pet owners.
"The most rewarding part of my job is driving away from a property after securing the surrender or the seizure of an animal that has been neglected, cruelly treated, or abused. It means that immediately the quality of their life has already improved," she said.
"Once they have been rehabilitated and responsibly rehomed, I often receive follow-ups, and it’s so heart-warming to see these innocent animals living the best life that they so deserve.
"The other rewarding aspect of my job is through education and helping pet owners improve their pet’s welfare and quality of life. When I return for a follow-up visit to find pet owners have made huge improvements and followed my advice and went even that step further.
To me, this sends out a loud and clear message that sometimes pet owners don’t realise how to care for their pets properly or fully understand what they need to do in order to safeguard the welfare of the animals in their care.
"It is a reminder that education is a fundamental part of my role."
In Wexford, Melanie also finds strength in her ability to educate people, and is bolstered by the memory of the animals that have been rehabilitated and successfully released back into the wild.
"Egg, a particularly adorable female common seal, had severe injuries to her rear flipper and underwent surgery to have it removed. Surgery on seals is risky as they often have complications coming out of anaesthesia, and it wasn’t certain whether she would be able to compete in the wild with a missing flipper, even if she did survive the surgery," explained Melanie.
"Despite the odds, Egg survived her surgery, recovered well, and proved her determination when she outcompeted all the other seals in her pool, missing flipper and all! She was released in February and we have every reason to believe she is thriving in the wild, not letting her disability hold her back."
Melanie explains the most rewarding part of her job is watching a healthy seal be released.
"We love to share this spectacular moment with the public and always personally invite SRI members, the volunteers who took part in the rescue and transport of that seal, and those who have adopted that seal, to join us," she said.
"We often even invite rescuers to open the cage of their seal upon release so they can fully appreciate the incredible journey from beginning to end. We also love to have our seals, identifiable by a blue flipper tag with a unique ID number, spotted healthy in the wild after they’ve been released. It makes all of the hard work and heartache worth the effort."
No two days are the same
As one can imagine, with so many different animals and so many different ailments and injuries, no two days are the same when it comes to life in a shelter.
At Limerick Animal Welfare, a typical day starts at 9am.
Staff members arrive and get to work in their assigned sections - perhaps in the cattery, on the farm, in the isolation kennels, the rehoming kennels, or in the office.
"The first thing we do, every day, is check on each animal. Some would have recently had surgery, while others are new to the sanctuary and may be scared," explained Marie.
"We make sure all the animals are safe and well. Our mornings work involves feeding the animals and cleaning the units to the highest standards."
The sanctuary is then open to the public from 12pm until 3pm, seven days a week apart from Bank Holidays.
"During this time, we welcome people looking to adopt and visitors who arrive at the sanctuary to visit and donate. This is usually a very busy time, especially at the weekend."
In the evenings, the animals are fed again, the units are checked and cleaned, and the animals settled for the night.
The staff then leave for the evening, though some of them literally take their work home with them as there are often puppies that need extra care or kittens that need to be bottle-fed every couple of hours.
The organisation also has staff that live in a cottage on the premises who check on the animals outside of regular working hours.
Finally, there is also a 24-hour hotline to man, and an emergency on-call service to maintain.
Members of the public call the shelter with everything from reports of dogs or cats straying, horses in trouble, a swan needing attention, animals involved in road traffic accidents, or general queries.
This year, the organisation has helped more than 570 dogs; 308 cats and kittens; 24 horses; 22 rabbits; and 13 goats.
"No two days are the same at Limerick Animal Welfare. We have to react quickly to the daily emergencies, when called for help. We do our best and work together as a team with a mutual end goal – which is to see an animal go from a bad situation to living in a 5-star home," said Marie.
At Seal Rescue Ireland, the day starts at 7am. Winter is high season for the shelter, as it's the time of year most seals will experience difficulty. The early rise is necessary during these months to ensure the sick pups being rehabilitated do not go hungry.
"Every single day at the Seal Rescue centre is different. During the winter we have many very young and sick pups in our care. Up to 200kg of fish per day must be thawed and prepared, and many gallons of yummy 'fish soup' must be made to tube-feed young pups who can’t eat on their own yet," explained Melanie.
"All of the kennels must be cleaned, baths filled and emptied, and seals checked for health, weight gain and behaviour."
The visitors centre opens to the public at 10am, during which time staff members and volunteers give educational tours. Other members work on fundraising projects.
"If there is a new seal coming in, which is a daily occurrence this time of year, then the person assigned to the rescue phone must coordinate rescue and transportation from within our network of volunteers to get the seal to the hospital to begin care," said Melanie.
"Throughout the day we must also clean pools, weigh seals to determine weight gain, and assess which seals are approaching condition to be released back into the wild."
On release days, staff members pack the seals up in crates, put the crates into vehicles, and transport them to the release site. This can be a great deal of driving if the seals are being released on the opposite coast, close to where they were found.
Over the course of the last 12 months, the organisation has taken in more than 110 seals.
"Our centre is constantly a buzz of activity until we close at 5pm, but that doesn’t mean the work is done. A different team must come back in at 8pm, and sometimes even at midnight and 4am, for an hour or two of night feeds."
Lisa at the ISPCA also has an early start each morning.
She spends most days on the road, travelling to different locations to investigate how animals there are being treated.
The #ISPCA is issuing a reminder that pets do not make good gifts and should never be bought on a whim or given as a surprise at any time of year. The charity have re-released a thought provoking #IPAAG video called #PuppyDotCon. Read more https://t.co/Ba79lhAfxK#puppy #rescue pic.twitter.com/Id8B2lUPqn
— ISPCA (@ISPCA1) December 3, 2019
"The first thing I do in the morning is plan my route giving priority in order of urgency. No two days are the same and my schedule doesn’t always go according to plan. I could receive a call from our National Animal Cruelty Helpline about an animal in distress, for example, and this will take priority," explained Lisa.
"The reports I receive to investigate are often about a broad range of animals from dogs at private properties, horses in fields, to injured wildlife. Every case is different and it’s a matter of assessing the animal, the environment and then taking action."
Action, for Lisa, ranges from offering advice and working with pet owners to improve the situation for the animals involved, to giving an instruction or, in worst case scenarios, removing animals from the property.
"Cork is very busy and geographically it is a large city and county, so a great deal of my time is spent travelling from call to call. Sometimes it is a case of reprioritising to investigate a new report in a different area in Cork which could involve removing animals to be urgently assessed at a veterinary practice."
So far this year, Lisa has rescued 141 dogs and puppies; 27 cats and kittens; 10 equine animals; 45 ducks, swans and a variety of other wildlife; a goat; four guinea pigs; and a goldfish. She has also helped hundreds more animals by working with pet owners to improve their welfare.
Costs are continually rising
While the work is undoubtedly needed, animal welfare organisations here are routinely underfunded.
As such, the vast majority of Irish shelters and rescues rely heavily on public donations and try to stretch this money as far as possible.
"It has been another busy year. The demand for our services continues to rise annually and veterinary costs are rising dramatically," said Marie from Limerick Animal Welfare.
"Our financial position continues to cause concern. The cost of running the sanctuary exceeds €60k each month and the veterinary costs will reach €180k this year. The costs are continually rising due to the increased intake of animals and the high cost of veterinary care and medicines. We have also experienced a big increase in badly injured animals requiring surgery."
The organisation is also currently in the process of building a new barn which will cost in excess of €55k.
Furthermore, it has plans to extend its isolation facilities to provide a separate isolation unit solely for puppies, and to open its own veterinary clinic at the sanctuary.
"The clinic is necessary as it will help cut down on veterinary costs and we will be able to treat our animals at the sanctuary. We estimate the cost of the fit out to be around €25k."
Marie said more funds are badly needed, but wanted to thank everyone who has supported them in the past.
"The general public are incredibly generous when it comes to donating towards the animals in our care. We would not be able to continue without them."
At the ISPCA, Lisa describes fundraising as a constant challenge.
"Our resources are stretched to breaking point. We need to be able to continue rescuing animals from the most appalling living conditions imaginable, and this is only possible through donations and gifts in wills that we receive from the public," she said.
Often people think the ISPCA is well funded, however 88% of our funding comes from life-saving public donations and the balance from an ex-gratia grant.
"We hope people will continue to support our vital work by making a kind donation this Christmas so we can continue helping Ireland’s most vulnerable animals."
Lisa explained that they have been doing everything they can to make ends meet.
"Making space to bring animals in can be a real struggle but we always seem to manage. I often foster all kinds of animals and my dogs are used to me bringing home new furry friends until space becomes available at the centre," she said.
"We really need to expand our kennels area at the centre in Mallow... but funds are an issue. We would ask members of the public to consider adopting a pet from the ISPCA in 2020. We have so many adorable animals just waiting for a second chance of a happy new home and it’s great to see them going to new loving homes and this also makes space to help even more animals who need us."
This year has also been a very busy one for Seal Rescue Ireland, both for rescues and in terms of growth and development.
Although the number of seal intakes has not been above average, SRI has increased its amount of education, outreach and proactive conservation projects to engage the public in protecting the marine environment and all life within.
They host frequent school groups, corporate groups, youth groups, new volunteer training and have had an overall increase in visitor footfall.
SRI has also developed initiatives to raise awareness that the state of marine life depends on the state of the environment as a whole. Such community activities include a variety of tree planting events, dozens of beach cleans, and a plastic pollution awareness campaign called ‘Ecobricks’. Due to these efforts, the organisation is becoming recognised as a leader in the fight against biodiversity loss and climate change in Ireland.
"As demands on our services increase, and the scope of our conservation work expands, we are faced with crowding in our current small facility," said Melanie.
As the only seal rescue centre within the Republic of Ireland over the last 10 years, our charity’s space and resources are stretched thin responding to calls nationwide and admitting large surges of intakes that all come in at once during pupping season and after big storms.
"Fundraising has increased due to a growth in reputation and awareness of our work, as well as acquiring a long-term team dedicated to the sustainability of the organisation into the future. However, operation costs have also increased dramatically."
The shelter also has a growing financial concern in relation to food for their rescue animals.
"Fish stocks in Irish waters are declining dramatically due to unsustainable fishing. Not only does this affect seals in the wild who depend on fish for survival, but SRI sources the herring for our seals from Irish suppliers. Recently, herring stocks have crashed which has caused continuous price increases, as well as putting into question how we will source fish into the future."
The legislation isn't strong enough
While funding in the area of animal welfare has been a critical issue for many years now, shelters are also hugely impacted by what they perceive to be the Government's blasé attitude towards creating and enforcing legislation relating to the well-being of animals.
"The main threat to animal welfare is lack of accountability. Microchipping is not enforced for dogs and horses and without this there is no accountability. Horses straying in inner Limerick City, dying from hunger and cold, is a huge cause for concern," said Marie from Limerick Animal Welfare.
"William, a small Shetland pony attached to a trap, collapsed on William Street outside the Limerick Animal Welfare shop. He was brought to the sanctuary in Kilfinane, after emergency veterinary treatment. He did not have a microchip, therefore, there is no accountability and no prosecution."
Marie appealed to the Department of Agriculture to enforce the microchipping legislation for equines.
"It is never possible to identify the owner of an abused and neglected horse. The cruelty continues unabated and nobody can be held responsible."
Lisa from the ISPCA also has trouble regarding legislation.
"We had more successful prosecutions again this year and hopefully these cases will encourage pet owners to do the right thing for their pet and ensure their welfare is not compromised," she said.
"However there are a few aspects of my job that can be very challenging. Possibly one of the most frustrating things for me would be the animals that fall between the cracks. As an authorised officer under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, I am duty bound to uphold the legislation. Sadly, some scenarios leave me faced with a degree of helplessness. I often want to intervene but the legislation isn’t strong enough to allow it in some areas."
One example, which Lisa says upsets her, is a dog chained to an outside kennel.
It’s not illegal so there is nothing I can do once shelter, water, and food has been provided. I find it frustrating, especially in winter time when there is a drop in temperature. This is really no life for a dog and I wish there was more I could do to help, other than giving advice.
While that aspect leaves a bad taste in her mouth, Lisa also praised the Government for approving the phase out of fur farming earlier this year.
Please be a responsible pet owner
Apart from stronger legislation and legislation that is more frequently enforced, those working in animal welfare say members of the public can also make a huge difference.
One way to do this is by donating to an animal welfare charity. Another way is to adopt a pet, or two, from a local shelter.
Other ways to help include caring for your own animals better, putting pressure on politicians to prioritise legislation and enforcement, and educating yourself about animal welfare issues.
"We would appeal to everyone to get their pet microchipped if possible. A microchip costs €20 approximately but is very important and could save your dog’s life. Every dog should always also wear a secure collar and identity tag," said Marie from Limerick Animal Welfare.
Also, as storms and high winds are frequent, please make sure your pets are safe indoors when bad weather is forecast and check gates and fences before letting them outside. Pets get lost continually during bad weather and often get injured as they are frightened and running in panic.
Lisa, from the ISPCA, appealed to pet owners to get their animals neutered.
"Please be a responsible pet owner and neuter/spay your pets as early as possible to prevent accidental and unwanted litters of puppies and kittens from being born," she said.
"The ISPCA is reminding pet owners of their legal responsibility to safeguard the welfare of animals in their care under the AHWA 2013 and encourages members of the public to continue to report any animal welfare concerns online or by contacting the ISPCA National Animal Cruelty Helpline on 1890 515 515."
Lisa said she would also like to see animal welfare modules in schools to teach children and teenagers how to care for pets properly.
Melanie, from Seal Rescue Ireland, also wants a focus on education, and for people to care more about the impact they are making on the environment.
"The biggest threat to animal welfare, specifically wildlife, is the human inflicted pressures that their habitat is under. Seals have thrived in Irish waters for thousands of years, but just in recent decades they are facing unprecedented threats such as plastic pollution and ghost nets accumulating in the marine environment, potentially choking or entangling them," she said.
"As fish stocks plummet, it is harder and harder for seals to find food they rely on to build thick blubber stores needed for survival in cold Irish waters, and produce nutrient rich milk for their pups to survive. As storms become fiercer and more frequent due to climate change, seals are faced with fewer safe haul out sites to shelter them from drowning or being pounded into rocks.
"Finally, seals are consistently under direct threat by humans and dogs approaching them and their pups as they attempt to rest on beaches. It is very important to respect wildlife from a distance as approaching them causes stress, injury, wasted energy and mothers to abandon healthy pups."
She said the best thing the public can do for animals right now is to be aware of where their food is coming from, and only support local, sustainable industries.
"Shifting towards a plant-based diet greatly reduces carbon emissions that cause climate change which is a threat to every animal, including humans," she said.
Additionally, local goods do not come with the carbon cost of transport. We should only be purchasing fish from local, sustainable suppliers, which are not using destructive fishing methods such as bottom trawling or exceeding quotas.
"Avoid buying items that have plastic packaging as one-time use plastics often end up in the ocean. It is estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish, which is very hazardous to the welfare of all marine animals, such as our lovely seals."
For more information about the organisations listed in this article, go to www.limerickanimalwelfare.ie, www.ispca.ie, and www.sealrescueireland.org.
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