If you have been following us on Facebook you will know that we recently rescued a puppy (well a big puppy!) from the Ash Animal Rescue. When I saw Joey (formally Bagel) on their Facebook Page I couldn’t believe how similar he was to our other Pointer Coco. So the next day Mike headed to Ash Rescue to bring Joey home.
He is the cutest dog, so loving and so friendly. I anticipated some adjustment with our other dogs Coco and Patch – but they all get on really well. Coco was so excited when he arrived and she had a young dog to play with. Now don’t get me wrong it has been a busy 3 weeks. Joey wasn’t toilet trained, he was the worst jumper in the world, didn’t know how to sit, and he chews EVERYTHING in sight! But that is to be expected – after all he is only a baby really.
Having 3 dogs I made the decision to take him to training and help him settle in to his new home. He loves the interaction and it’s been great to get time alone with and really get his focus and attention. He is still jumping, nearly toilet trained and he sits when he is told 🙂 So proud!! Ash Animal Rescue do great work and rescue hundreds of animals each year – so we decided to get in touch and see if they would answer a few questions about rescuing a dog (or cat) from them.
An Interview With Ash Animal Rescue
1. How did you get involved with Ash? Remi and I founded Ash, we had been doing rescue for many years in a less formal way. Towards the end of 2002 we decided the time had come to open an bank account for the rescue and become Ash Rescue. We have grown since then and have been Ash as you know it for the past 10 years.
2. How many people work/volunteer at Ash? Remi and I work 7 days a week, we are a bit of a mixture between 
staff and volunteers. So together we get one small wage, each €150 per week nett (we have no other income so we need to take that). Helen works full time, Eva works 32 hours per week and Leona 18 hrs per week. That is not enough and without our many, many volunteers we wouldn’t be able to keep up. There are about 10 volunteers who do a day/week her but there are many who come when they can or are involved in fundraising/website/posters/etc.
3. How many animals has Ash rescued and rehomed? So far this year about 75 animals have joined their new families, mainly dogs. Two have been returned to us for different reasons. We have taken in approximately the same amount. There is always a waitinglist, so as soon as one leaves, another is taking its place. Over the years we have helped thousands of animals to a chance of a good life with their new families.
4. How many dogs do you currently have at Ash? Do you have any other animals? We always have around 100 dogs. We also have cats for rehoming, usually 35 to 40 and another 16-18 living around the place, they are all neutered/spayed and of course they are fed every day, they would have come in as ferals and we seldom home any of that group.
5. What do you think peoples biggest misconception is about taking on a rescue dog? Some people think that an adult dog will certainly have behavioural problems but at the same time they think that any puppy they take on at 8-10 weeks will grow into a mannerly, well behaved dog, regardless of training, background and treatment.
6. What is the process for rescuing a dog from Ash? Have a look at the website, on the left you will see a page called ‘adopting from ash’
7. What type of help and support do you get to keep Ash running? What events do you hold to raise money? We get a donation from the Department of Agriculture, for this year it is €18k We ask people who adopt from us to give us a re-homing donation, €20 for kittens/rabits, €40 for a neutered male cat/€45 for a spayed female and €100 for a pup/dog. We organise a number of fundraisers e.g. our sporsored dog walk, dog shows, collection days, collection boxes in shops, we encourage ladies to run/walk the minimarathon for us and we organised a very successful Autumn Fayre in Duckett’s Grove last year. We also sell calendars and Christmas cards.
8. How can people get involved if they want to support Ash? Come out and visit us, usually walking a few dogs is the start. Some people like just that and come back from time to time, other develop into a more all round volunteer, grooming, mucking out, dealing with the public, doing home checks etc.
9. If you could give one piece of advice to someone getting a pet what would it be? Be sure you are ready to commit to taking on an animal, it is a long term ‘love affair’, you should think about the money side as well. Please, don’t consider them disposables, if your circumstances change, you may have to consider changing the way you keep your pet; it is seldom a valid reason to give up on them and it is never an excuse to dump them, put them in a pound or to ‘give them away’ to just anyone willing to take them on.
A Big THANK YOU to Ash Animal Rescue for taking the time to talk with us.
Clearly from the interview you can see that they LOVE animals and are extremely committed to the work that they do. I am totally in favour of rescuing animals if you want a family pet. All of our pets either came from a rescue or we found them and took them in. It’s an extremely rewarding thing to do and the love that these animals can give you is unbelievable.
Pet Sitters Ireland would encourage everyone to rescue rather than buy, and if you do decide to go to Ash Animal Rescue and take an animal from them then we will give a years free membership to our VIP Club.
You can read everything that entitles you to on our website – including discounts on Pet Sitting and Dog Walking, Free Shipping on Pet Products, and Free Gifts for your pets.
Let us know if you have rescued already and all about your new four legged friend!
