Homes found for sick puppies litter

A PUBLIC appeal to find homes for a litter of nine sick puppies has ended in success.

The puppies were rescued from a raid on a puppy farm in Co Carlow and were suffering from a canine disease called adenovirus, which is a similar to hepatitis.

The litter most likely contracted the disease due to the horrific living conditions they had been kept in.

Finglas based Dogs Trust Ireland had already taken in over 40 of the most vulnerable dogs rescued from the puppy farm but were struggling to find homes for the nine sick puppies.

However, following an extensive appeal, which was featured in Northside People last month, all of the pups have now been rehomed into temporary foster care for an expected period of 3-6 months.

One of those homes is that of Andy Smith from Finglas. Andy generously fostered three of the collie cross pups from what was probably Ireland’s most fragile litter.

Andy named them after counties in Ireland; Kerry, Mayo and Kildare, and says he’s delighted to be able to help.

“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,

? he said.

“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.

?

Head of Marketing at Dogs Trust, Kathrina Bentley, 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,

? she added.

“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.

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