Animal Rescue with Marion Garnett
Dedicated animal expert MARION GARNETT, founder of the Ealing Animal Charities Fair, continues her column
AFTER spending a long halfhour in John Lewis looking at curtains and fabrics, I came to the conclusion it’s not essential to choose the ones you like the best in the world, just ones you can tolerate living with happily – (I hesitate to add, just like choosing a partner really).
Fortunately, two Lurchers have found they can tolerate living with each other very happily – so happily, in fact, that Dogs Trust want them to be homed together. Many relationships are consolidated by having shared history together and these two certainly have that.
They came over together from the same place in Ireland and have been sharing a pen together at Dogs Trust, Harefield.
Just like many partnerships, they support each other in different ways.
Larry is an affectionate boy who, although he can be shy when first meeting people, is soon won over by food. He is more confident than his kennel mate, Suzie, who can find meeting new people daunting.
Larry tends to act as a role model for Suzie.
They are looking for experienced owners who are around most of the day so that leaving hours can be built up gradually. If you are interested in homing these two friends, they are waiting at Dogs Trust, Harvil Road, Uxbridge UB9 6JW.
But partnerships – for humans, at least – may not be rosy all the time. They may go sour and even become abusive.
In order to help someone in an abusive relationship who would like to leave their home but is reluctant to do so until they know there is somewhere safe for their dog to go, Dogs Trust has set up the Freedom Project. This is a dog fostering service for people fleeing domestic abuse.
In many cases, dogs cannot be taken into a refuge so Dogs Trust places dogs in the homes of volunteer foster carers for up to six months until their owners are rehoused and can take them back.
During this time Dogs Trust covers the dog’s expenses including food and vet costs. If you would like to know more about this service or if you’re interested in becoming a volunteer foster carer, see details at dogstrustfreedom project.org.uk or call 0800 298 9199. Cats Protection (cats.org.uk) offer a similar service called Paws Protect for the cats of people fleeing domestic violence. Call 0345 260 1280 or email paws protect@cats.org.uk for details.
With both these services, confidentiality and safety are of the utmost importance.