Animal Rescue with Marion Garnett
Dedicated animal expert Marion Garnett, founder of the Ealing Animal Charities Fair, continues her column
“A real counter surfer who will hoover up any food in sight” – seems to me this description could apply to many of us during lockdown.
But, it was written about Bally who is currently waiting, with Dogs Trust, for a new home. This ex-racing greyhound has probably never lived in a home before and will need to learn the basics such as when food is on the table, it’s not self-service. Once he knows you, he’s very loving and will lean on you.
For those interested in adopting Bally, the good news is that Dogs Trust are trialling a rehoming service, called Handover at Home.
This process involves prospective owners contacting Dogs Trust to find out more about a dog and complete a questionnaire.
Dogs Trust then arrange a virtual meeting. If it’s thought there is a match, Dogs Trust brings the dog to you, adhering to social distancing guidelines. If everyone is happy, the dog is left in its new home.
The new owner pays the rehoming fee and the dog is signed over. Dogs Trust continue to provide advice, if needed. If you want to know more about Bally and the scheme, see dogstrust.org.uk.
At least when Dogs Trust take the dog on its exciting journey to its potential new home, we know it will be safe – the dog won’t be in danger of being left in a hot car.
Every year, despite the clear message that Dogs Die in Hot Cars, still it happens. According to the RSPCA, when it’s 22C outside, it can reach 47C inside a car, within an hour. A dog can die in less than 20 minutes.
If we see a distressed dog in a hot car, the RSPCA advise us to call 999. If the dog is outside a shop, we could ask the shop to make an announcement for the car owner. If the situation becomes critical and the police are too far away, many people’s instinct will be to break into the car to free the dog. If we decide to do this, we need to be aware that, without proper justification, this could be classed as criminal damage and we may need to defend our actions in court. We must make sure we tell the police what we intend to do, why and take images of the dog and the names and numbers of witnesses.
It’s important to remember that places such as conservatories and caravans can get hot very quickly too.