Author: Vet Dept

Renee’s Story

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13 year old Renee was a loyal and loving family pet for many years. She lived along side her life canine companion who sadly passed away a few months. We all know to lose a family member or someone close to us can effect us in many ways. Renee suffered from this, we suspect of a broken heart. She required extra love and attention from her family to help her heel but sadly their decision, after trying to help her, was to surrender her.

We did a big appeal for poor Renee on social media and we blown away with the amount of love and support that she received from everyone. We are very happy say to we found Renee the most wonderful home. She is happy again and she is loved. When considering adopting don’t forget the senior pets that are in shelters – they deserve so much and a shelter is really no place for an old soul.

Bebe’s Story

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Bebe waited 187 days in our shelter to find that someone special who would love him as much as we did. He originally came from Dublin County Dog Shelter with a skin condition and feeling very low. This boy completely stole the hearts of the Adoptions team, and they worked very hard to get him ready for adoption so that he could find the perfect home.

Bebe needed a home as the only dog and an owner who would be will ing to continue with his training. That perfect family came along and Bebe is now living an amazing life with the best family that he could have asked for

Every dog in our shelter is difference and our team work very hard to make sure they find the right home for each of them. We are proud of what we do and and seeing them go home makes every second worthwhile.

Angel’s Story

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At 12 years old Angel found herself in a shelter through no fault of her own. Sadly her owner had to go into a home and couldn’t care for her anymore. Angel was loved so much and because she was such a good girl her owner gave her lots of treats. Angel had to be put on a strict diet because her weight was making it was uncomfortable for her to was and her she was in a lot of pain. This sweet girl spent a long tie with us on the shelter getting weekly weigh ins. We did a few adoption appeals for her but sadly no home came from it.

The staff in the cattery loved Angel so much as did all the visitors that they decided to adopt her! She is now part of the furniture in our cattery where she lives a very happy life meeting and greeting all the visitors. Be sure to say hi to her when you visit.

140 animals rescued from Dublin petting farm

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In April 2021 we were faced with one of the largest intake of animals at any one time with 140 animals all in desperate need of veterinary care. The conditions our inspectors found these animals living in were simply appalling and incredibly distressing.
Over a period of 2 days our inspectors removed 31 dogs, 46 rabbits, 9 guinea pigs, 6 geese, 37 chickens, 9 pigeons, 6 goats, 2 ponies and their foals. Others animals surrendered included geese, pigs and a number of horses and donkeys which were relocated to other Animal Charities.
In court the owner, a 74 year old Dublin woman pleaded guilty to 10 charges under the Animal Health and Welfare Act. She was given a six month suspended sentence and disqualified from working with animals for 5 years. The judge said “The facts outlined are appalling and beyond one’s wildest supposition”.

Kittens 0 – 2 weeks old

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Newborn kittens aged between 0-2 weeks will have their eyes closed and their ears folded. They will have no teeth and their gums, nose, and paws may appear bright pink in colour. The umbilical cord normally falls off on its own at around  4 to 5 days of age so at 1 and 2 weeks old they will have no umbilical cord. Their claws will be non-retractable.

Kittens this age belong with their mother full time. Please DO NOT remove the kittens. Their mother will be close by keeping an eye on them. If you do not see a mother present please call the DSPCA on (01) 499 4700 select option 3 or email info@dspca.ie

Should I handle kittens at this age?

The simple answer is no. Leave the kittens alone during this stage.

Charlie’s Case

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Dublin woman ordered to pay €13,000 over emaciated Shih Tzu & prolonged starvation. Yesterday in court the owner of Charlie, a 5 year old Shih Tzu was banned from owning a pet for 5 years and fined a sum of €13,000.

In October 2021 a DSPCA inspector called to a home following complaints from a member of the public about the dog’s welfare. Our inspector saw the dog who was underweight, very lethargic and not behaving normally. The owner of Charlie was advised by our inspector to bring him to a vet, however the following day when he returned the dog was on a public footpath in the same condition. Our inspector seized the dog on welfare ground On examination by the DSPCA veterinary team, Charlie was emaciated, very week, dehydrated, matted and had a very bad odor from faecal matting and fresh diarrhea. Charlie’s bones were visible and he was unable to hold his own body weight. He only weighed 4.8kg.

He would not eat but his weight increased within a day to 5.7 kg just from drinking water. Blood tests taken at the shelter showed that Charlie suffered prolonged starvation. A large firm mass was discovered in his abdomen and he was booked in for surgery. During surgery our vet team discovered a blockage in his intestine caused by a rope/cord material and his stomach was completely blocked.

Praising the DSPCA’s involvement, Judge Anthony imposed fines of €13,000 and banned the woman from pet ownership for five years. He convicted Charlie’s owner of recklessness regarding the health or welfare of her dog and failing to protect and feed him. He also ordered the forfeiture of the dog, which has remained in the care of the DSPCA since it intervened 19 months ago.

The DSPCA accept the ruling and we are very pleased to report that Charlie is a happy dog now weighing in at a healthy 11kg.

DSPCA Pet Memorial Garden Opening Friday 8th September 2023

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Welcome to the DSPCA Pet Memorial Garden. This is a reflective, dedicated space for people who wish to honour the memory of a beloved pet who they have loved and lost. By supporting the garden, you are helping the DSPCA to rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome sick, injured, and cruelly treated animals.

The Garden will be open to the public from Friday September 8th 2023. Opening hours 12 – 4pm Tuesday to Sunday.

About the Garden

The memorial garden is set in an area of peace and tranquillity where visitors are invited to take time to reflect at one of the many specially crafted sites in the garden. Sculptures and artwork have been specially created by local artists to celebrate the lives of all pets who have crossed the rainbow bridge.

Honour your pet’s memory

There are many ways you can honour your pet’s memory and support The DSPCA Memorial Garden. Each one will help change the life of an animal in need:

– Dedicated Memorial tree to include engraved ground plaque or stone.

– Dedicated Memorial Bench to include engraved plaque

– Wall of Remembrance plaque

– Perpetual engraved memorial stone

– Boardwalk plaque including engraving

– DSPCA disc to include engraving and placement on walkway.

– Personalised memorial cards (coming soon)

– Plant-able memorial cards with wildflower seeds (coming soon)

Contact us

The Garden will be open to the public from Friday September 8th 2023. Opening hours 12 – 4pm Tuesday to Sunday.

To find out more please email memorialgarden@dspca.ie

Finn’s Story

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Finn arrived to the DSPCA after being found by the side of the road completely shut down and emaciated. You would not think for one moment that underneath the swollen, infected, sad face staring back at us was a happy go lucky, lovable, funny and goofy boy. Finn spent over 6 months under our care with our amazing  animal care staff , adoption team and vets who together not only healed his wounds but mended his broken heart. Thanks to their care Finn turned into one of the most adorable and loving boy with the biggest heart. Our adoptions team helped Finn find a wonderful home and he is living his best life and is spoilt rotten – what more could we ask for!

Jordan’s Story

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Jordan waited 500 days in the shelter to find that someone special to adopt him. He came into the shelter as a terrified stray with a very bad skin condition and hair loss. He was so terrified that he tried to jump out a window when our vets tried to examine him.

Our adoptions team worked so hard to help him trust people. It took months for him to feel safe and happy walking on a lead. Jordan liked his own space and routine for him was so important. We helped this old boy recover from his physical neglect and helped him to trust us and to not be afraid.

We did numerous appeals to find a home for Jordan. A family called to say they would like to come and meet him so he got all dressed up in his bow tie to meet them. They never showed and when we posted a photo of him waiting for them in his kennel he became a bit of a celebrity on the internet! Jordan’s photo went everywhere and because of this Jordan finally found his forever home! He is going great and has even managed to be brave enough to jump up on the couch!

Operation TOTO – Traveling With Your Pet

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The DSPCA is working with Custom Officers and An Garda Síochána at Dublin Port in a new operation to highlight the legal requirements for the movement of Pets between Ireland, the UK and France – Operation TOTO.

What You Need To Know

Pets that are traveling on board with people in their vehicles must hold a valid pet passport or a veterinary certificate (UK only). Your pet must also have a rabies vaccination, which means your pet must be 15 weeks or older to travel with you. Your pet must be microchipped with the microchip registered to you the owner.

Read more helpful information Department of Agriculture – Pet Travel Information

Read more information on the additional regulations that apply to commercial shipments of pets Department of Agriculture – HERE

As ever the DSPCA are thankful to Customs for their support in highlighting this issue to the traveling public and for their on going vigilance in addressing the illegal puppy trade from Ireland into the UK. We would also like to the thank the Department of Agriculture for their support in this important campaign.

We are thankful to the traveling public for their cooperation and so far we are delighted to see that the majority of people boarding the ferries with their pets this week were compliant.