Helping Stray pets to get back home - some timely Animals in Need advice

Animals In Need (AIN) helps lost and found pets on a daily basis. There are a number of ways the public can also help if they find a lost and wandering pet.

Firstly, contact animal rescues in your area as they can share the information and may have had a report that the animal is missing. 

AIN will post the animal’s details on their Facebook page but they need the contact number of the finder in order to do so. This has to be provided directly by the finder rather than a third party due to data protection rules. 

A sick rabbit found near Drumlonagher in Donegal Town 

The finder’s phone number will not be published in the post and will only be given out to the owner, once they have proven ownership.

Other information required is the animal’s gender, whether they are microchipped, do they look healthy, where were they found and if it is a dog, has the Letterkenny Pound been contacted?

AIN expect the finder to update them if the pet is reunited with their owner.

Any dogs that are found should be scanned for a microchip by a vet. Also contact the Gardaí and your local radio station to advertise the dog as found.

By law, any dog that is found must go to the Dog Shelter in Glencar, Letterkenny, who will also advertise them. 

The phone number for Letterkenny Dog Shelter is 0749125159. 

Simba is doing well after having a leg amputated

The dogs who are taken there are safe and are not in danger of being put to sleep.

AIN works closely with the Letterkenny Dog Shelter and any dog that is not reclaimed within the five mandatory days will be collected from there by AIN volunteers for rehoming.

If you see posts of concern on 'buy and sell’ pages, please contact the person posting directly and ask them to contact AIN and also report the post to the page’s administrators as advertising animals for sale is illegal on Facebook. 

The situation with unwanted dogs is extremely difficult at the moment, with calls to AIN’s helpline coming in on a daily basis from people wishing to surrender their dog, most of these dogs being collies, but there are no homes for them to go to and AIN has a lengthy waiting list of dogs waiting for foster spaces.

AIN helps many lost dogs

Meanwhile, it has been a better week at the cattery, with a number of cats and kittens being adopted.

Amongst the most recent cat rescues is a young ginger cat called Simba who was found with an old, untreated leg injury at Upper Main Street, Donegal Town last week.

Unfortunately, the damage to his front leg was beyond repair and he had to have it amputated at the vets.

Simba is making a good recovery after the surgery and is recuperating at his AIN foster home.

A stray cat who was hanging around the hospital in Donegal Town was also taken in to foster care as no-one came forward to claim him, despite appeals.

This ginger cat is the image of Simba and is believed to be his father. AIN have a number of neutered semi-feral cats looking for outdoor homes.

These cats would be ideal for farms and rural areas, providing effective, environmentally friendly rodent control in exchange for shelter and daily food and fresh water.

If you could offer a semi-feral cat or two a home, please contact the cat helpline.

AIN also rescued a domestic rabbit who was found wet and terrified in a drain in Drumlonagher, Donegal Town at the weekend. 

The rabbit is sick and is at the vets at the moment as he would not eat and could not go to the toilet. He is very jumpy when he is touched and may be blind. Fingers crossed for his recovery.

Finally, AIN were delighted to be chosen to win DLDC’s Community Recognition Award for Best Community Organisation/Social Enterprise (Small), which was sponsored by Tata Consultancy Services.

Well done to all AIN’s volunteers, who work hard in so many ways to help the unwanted animals of Donegal.

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Congratulations also to the three runners up; Playmatters, Dunkineely Community and Convoy Community Environmental Committee

To help AIN’s animals, please donate €2 to AIN’s ‘Help Us To Help Them’ fundraising appeal via your phone by texting the word ‘KITTEN’ to 50300. Every last cent goes directly to the rescued animals for their food, bedding, vet bills, worming treatment and vaccinations.

For further information on adoption, fostering, volunteering etc, please contact the main helpline on 087 1356188. For cat/kitten enquiries please call 087 7644420. Animals In Need Donegal is also on Facebook and has a website at http://www.animalsinneeddonegal.com.