Dogs Trust appeals for foster homes after saving abandoned emaciated Lurcher

Dogs Trust says it is highlighting the volume of unwanted dogs in Ireland after taking an emaciated, three-year-old Lurcher into their care, who had recently given birth.

With surrender requests at an all-time high, the charity fears more dogs will be abandoned, as there simply isn’t the space in rescues and dog pounds around the country to keep up with the demand to take dogs in.

Dogs Trust has affectionately named the abandoned dog, Rainbow, as despite everything she has endured, she is still a bright and beautiful girl.

A caring couple found the malnourished Lurcher after she wandered into their garden, late on St. Patrick’s Day.

Doing their best to help her, they sat with her all night as she gave birth to 10 puppies and brought them all to Dogs Trust the following day.

Niamh Curran-Kelly Veterinary and Welfare Manager at Dogs Trust Ireland explains:

“It broke our hearts to see the condition Rainbow was in when she arrived; she had clearly been straying for a while.

“She was severely malnourished, dehydrated, completely exhausted and as a result of this, she was unable to produce enough milk for her puppies.

“Despite our best efforts and round the clock bottle feeding, only four of her puppies survived. Rainbow’s body simply hadn’t been able to produce healthy puppies due to starvation.

“It’s a miracle any survived so, we are very happy and relieved that Rainbow and her four pups are now thriving and almost ready for their forever homes!”

Eimear Cassidy, Regional Rehoming Manager at Dogs Trust Ireland continued:

“We are seeing a huge rise in the number of people looking to surrender dogs into our care, which is extremely worrying.

“What we really need now are more foster homes all around Ireland and people willing to take on dogs who need extra training and space to settle in.

“Due to the pandemic many of the dogs in our care missed out on vital socialisation so they can be very worried and therefore not suited to homes with young children due to their fearfulness. If you think you can give one of our adult dogs a quiet, temporary home, we would love to hear from you.”

If you live in a quiet home with older teenagers or just adults and are willing to open your home temporarily to a vulnerable dog, you can offer to foster for Dogs Trust Ireland via www.DogsTrust.ie/Fostering where you can complete a fostering application form.