Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Hanks for all your help...
£18K OF DONATIONS FOR DOG’S COURT BATTLE AWARDED TO GOOD CAUSES
WHEN Northern Ireland’s most famous dog Hank was released from pooch prison after claims he was a banned breed, funds donated for a legal battle needed to find a good home.
Today we reveal who applied and received financial help from the Hank Fund and how the money was used to help animals in need. And we speak to beneficiaries and volunteers at one very special charity that is helping frail owners remain united with their precious pets through their toughest times. Rosie’s Trust is just one of the organisations to be helped by the £18,500 fund as they face an everburgeoning demand. Registered as a charity in April 2015, the trust supports the owners and companion pets of three client groups: people who are terminally ill the elderly living with disability, and people who are undergoing cancer treatment. Team leader Bronagh O’neill founded the charity and runs it with trustees and volunteers, operating 365 days a year. She said: “Our principal aim is to enable owners and their pets to stay together. “Our services are offered at no cost to our clients. We are proud to enable the continuing relationship between people and their pets.” The charity received £1,500 for a petrol account and £2,981 was paid to Total Van Solutions to make the Rosie’s Trust van pet-safe. Noreen Breen from North Belfast is one of the people to benefit from the work of the organisation. The 89-year-old is still able to have her dog Snowie live at home with her thanks to volunteers from Rosie’s Trust. Noreen says her body has fallen out of sync with her still razor-sharp mind putting her role as a pet owner at risk. Her physical frailty means she can no longer walk her little rescue dog and without help her only alternative would be to have Snowie rehomed. Noreen said: “If he was rehomed I’d just die of heartbreak and loneliness and I don’t think Snowie would be too pleased either. “He’s the boss in my house and he knows it.” Snowie is a 10-year-old poodle/ bichon mix and is Noreen’s constant companion, even sleeping at the foot of her bed and watching TV with her. She said: “Unless I had the girls from Rosie’s Trust walking Snowie I couldn’t keep him. “His health and happiness is what keeps me going every day. “I found out about them at a club I go to for people who’ve had cancer. “They suggested I looked into getting help to walk Snowie and now I have four volunteers – Janice and her daughter Emily, Claire and Lizanne – and between them they get him all the exercise he needs. Then he comes back to me and resumes his position on the best chair in the house. He is a lively little dog and after surviving cancer and various other illnesses, Snowie is my reason to keep going. “While he’s here, I’ll be here and I can promise him that’s thanks to the volunteers from Rosie’s Trust.” One of Noreen’s dog walkers, Janice Davison, 54, said helping out makes her happy. A professional carer for a child with complex needs, Janice works three night shifts a week to allow the youngster’s parents to get some sleep. And she fits Snowie’s needs in around her work, walking him with her daughter. Janice said: “We are dog lovers. “I have two border terriers and I know the importance of the companionship of dogs. “People who don’t understand will never understand and sadly that’s their loss. I love to help out Noreen. “I would urge other dog lovers to think about volunteering for the charity. It really is a vital lifeline needed by many, many people and the dogs they adore.” Valerie Hagan has also benefitted greatly from the help of Rosie’s Trust volunteers who walked her two beloved basset hounds when she was undergoing cancer treatment. The businesswoman said the help ensured Lily and Freddie, both fiveyears-old, did not have to be rehomed. The 56-year-old, from Limavady, Co Derry, said: “Apart from the fact I was too unwell and too exhausted to walk the dogs, my son Connor has special needs and one of our bassets is a companion dog for him. “I had to travel to the City Hospital in Belfast from Limavady for treatment for ovarian cancer and the whole situation was exhausting. But
I would urge dog lovers to volunteer for the charity JANICE DAVISON ROSIE’S TRUST VOLUNTEER
the comfort I had from Lily and Freddie when I got home and got into bed was immeasurable. I couldn’t do without them. “They were my comfort on bad days, my comfort on good days and my company as I started to pick up my life again. “Without my helpers from Rosie’s Trust we just wouldn’t have coped. “Hearing the girls’ voices as they came in the door, cherishing the silence of the house knowing Lily and Freddie were being looked after, and finally hearing the clatter as they came back through the door tired and well, I’ll be forever grateful. If my option had been getting chemotherapy but getting rid of the dogs I know I’d have kept the dogs. “Thankfully because of the help from Rosie’s Trust that was not a decision I had to make.” One of Valerie’s helpers, retired debt adviser Frances Steele, travelled from Portrush, Co Antrim, to help. She said: “Lily and Freddie were a pleasure to walk, funny dogs with great characters and that big basset personality. “I left Valerie’s for home each time feeling satisfied I’d done a good thing. Just popping by to walk the dogs helped Valerie’s emotional state during her most challenging times because our chats about the dogs gave her a break from thinking about her difficulties.” Rowena Gillen, from Ballymena, Co Antrim, also volunteers with the charity. She said: “The positivity of having a dog in safe care and returned walked, happy and tired to an owner who is having a difficult time is incredible. “But it takes quite a few people to help look after one owner’s dog so we are always hoping for more volunhappy, teers.” Understandably, Macmillan Cancer Support’s health and wellbeing team are delighted with Rosie’s Trust. A spokesperson said: “They have been approachable, flexible and responsive to the people and animals we have referred. “Feedback from patients is that it is such a relief to know their pets are being well cared for whilst they are dealing with their diagnosis.” Hank’s Fund received a total of £18,583.65 in donations as a court case over his legality loomed. The dog’s owner Joanne Meadows said: “It has been amazing to witness and hear about all the help Hank’s Fund has provided. “People were so generous and supportive when Hank was in trouble. “I couldn’t have done this without the help of my voluntary advisers and my solicitor Stephen Tumelty who worked for me for free. “And of course a big thanks goes to the volunteers who do the amazing work in all the places we visited who applied for help from Hank’s Fund. “They opened their premises and their books for due diligence before any decision was made.”
If my dog Snowie was rehomed I’d just die of heartbreak & loneliness NOREEN BREEN NORTH BELFAST