Puppies new home in finglas

A few weeks ago,  we reported that Dogs Trust Ireland made an emergency appeal for help with nine very sick pups rescued from the County Carlow Puppy Farm discovery. This litter contracted the Adenovirus, most likely because of the horrific living conditions they were kept in.

Following the opening of a dedicated Puppy Wing in 2014, Dogs Trust were fortunately in a position to care for over 40 of the most vulnerable dogs and pups seized from the puppy farm, including orphaned pups and nursing mums.

After an extensive appeal from their Rehoming Centre, nine of the most vulnerable puppies from the rescue were rehomed into temporary foster care for an expected period of three to six months. Each foster home was carefully chosen by the Dogs Trust Canine Care team to ensure the needs of these fragile pups were met.

One of those homes was that of Andy Smith from Finglas. Andy’s generosity knew no bounds and he immediately fostered three of the collie cross pups from most fragile litter. They’ve been named after counties in Ireland; Kerry, Mayo and Kildare.

Andy said: ‘We were really keen to rehome a dog from Dogs Trust and when I heard that they urgently required care for the rescued pups, we got in touch with them straight away. We’ve three of the pups and all three are best friends, they are great company for each other and you can see their personalities really coming on. They are feeding great and putting on weight each day which is really reassuring. It’s our first time fostering and we’re conscious they are still very vulnerable and need lots of vet checks but we’re delighted to be supporting Dogs Trust and playing our part, even temporarily, in caring for these dogs. We’d recommend fostering to anyone who is at home all day, loves dogs and needs some company’

Kathrina Bentley, Head of Marketing at Dogs Trust said: ‘Foster carers like Andy offer genuine commitment, patience and kindness to pups like those from the Co Carlow rescue. With 208 dogs on site here at our Rehoming Centre, we rely so much on foster carers to support the work we do. These pups were not your average puppy and they have required even more from their foster carers. Having contracted the Adenovirus from their horrendous living conditions, they require regular vet care from our team here at the Centre. Fostering can be an enormously rewarding experience for both the dog and its foster carer, it’s an opportunity to give pups and dogs the very best start on their rehoming journey.’