Dogs day out at Derby
Shae McFarland from Winnaleah won the best dressed with her peacock-inspired outfit as she walked Jingo the miniature American Shepherd from Derby.
More than a dozen dogs took to the streets of Derby on Saturday for the inaugural Derby Paws Walk raising $2000 for the North East Animal Sanctuary.
Organised by the Derby Community Development Association, the walk saw canines of all shapes and sizes join with their companions for the fundraiser, which they hope to hold annually into the future.
The Herrick shelter was started by Michelle Jesson 10 years ago following the death of her brother and has since helped over 1200 animals.
‘‘His death really made me realise how short life is and if you want to do something you just have to get on and do it. I was a bit clueless and it wasn’t easy to start with and I didn’t know what I was in for,” Ms Jesson said.
The facility includes a cattery, kittery, night shed for dogs with eight dog runs, and a quarantine facility.
It currently has about 40 cats and kittens, eleven dogs as well as six puppies in its care.
The animals have been surrendered for a range of reasons including cost of living.
“Some of them are special needs but I like the underdog,” she said.
“We have had one labrador mum, dad and four puppies come in because the owner’s mother was allergic to them, but she was moving in because of a health condition and had nowhere else to live, so they had no choice but to surrender.
“Last week I picked up a toy poodle and her two puppies because the owner couldn’t afford for her to have a C-section after another one of the pups had died (in-utero) … so the vet rang and asked us to take them. We have a greyhound who is having seizures. We say yes to helping and then figure it out.”
A team of around 12 people volunteer to assist at the sanctuary and with fundraising while a couple of people act as foster carers to assist before the animas can be adopted out.
The registered charity recently received funding from the Petbarn Foundation to assist with a $20,000 project including a new 20x10m contained training yard with adjoining studio for canine massage and to be socialised into a domestic setting when required.
Money raised at the Derby Paws Walk will go a long way to helping the centre with its work, given it’s currently facing a vet bill of $20,000.
“Even though we have been going for 10 years there are a lot of people who don’t know we exist, so to have this amount of support is amazing and is really exciting for the future of the shelter,” she said.
“We have 13,500 followers on Facebook and if everyone could just donate $1 a month it would really help.”
North East Animal Sanctuary is also a charity partner of Recycle Rewards and has received 254 donations totalling $3132.70 since the recycling facility opened in Scottsdale.
