Adopt Don't Shop - May 2020, Featuring MADRA Dog Rescue

To raise awareness of the many hardworking animal rescues and charities across the country, we plan to highlight their activities on our blog throughout the coming year. So if you’re involved in this area and would like your organisation to be included, just get in touch with us at ecomutt@hotmail.com. 

Adopt Don’t Shop - May 2020

Featuring MADRA Dog Rescue

Madra Dog Rescue is a not for profit Dog Rescue and Adoption Group based in Connemara, Co. Galway. 

This month, Amy, a volunteer at MADRA Dog Rescue tells us a little about her  work with the rescue. 

I have been a volunteer at MADRA dog rescue since I moved to Galway from Scotland four years ago. MADRA rescues and rehabilitates unwanted, neglected, abused and abandoned dogs, with the end goal of finding them a new, loving, permanent home. Being a dog lover all my life, I knew that it was the perfect volunteering opportunity for me to gain experience handling and helping rescue dogs and play a part in their journey towards finding their forever homes. 

With over 500 dogs arriving at their shelter each year, it's not always easy to find every one of those dogs a home. A lot of the dogs require a lot of rehabilitation, such as the current Cróga family of 34 dogs that have been rescued from a hoarding situation. The staff work hard every day at trying to gain the trust of these dogs, building their confidence and exposing them to positive experiences, all at each i​ndividual dog’s pace. The staff have done such a good job with them that some have already gone to supportive foster homes, whilst they are still working with the other dogs that remain at the kennels until they reach the point where they are also able to go to homes of their own. 

As with every rescue, MADRA relies heavily on donations from the general public to cover their running costs of over €350,000 per year. The current pandemic has led to the closure of their charity shops and the cancellation of all fundraising events. Being unable to physically help out at the kennels with the restrictions in place, I got creative in figuring out how I could raise money to help the dogs and staff at MADRA. I started up a fundraiser where I created custom embroidery designs of peoples dogs in return for a €20 donation, and so far have raised over €400. I have been working through a list of over 20 embroideries, and will be reopening the fundraiser when I am finished all my current designs. Staying at home has got many of us finding new talents and hobbies, so why not turn these new skills into a fundraiser for your local dog rescue charity?! 🙂

You can check out all current fundraisers and follow the story of all of the dogs, including the Cróga family, on MADRA facebook page

MADRA Dog Resuce

To donate:

Amy’s current Fundraiser: Embroidery Dogs | Fundraiser for MADRA

TO DONATE €4 TEXT MADRA to 50300

Bank Identifier (BIC): AIBKIE2D / IBAN: IE57AIBK93709644560082

Other Fundraising Efforts: MADRA Dog Rescur Fundraisers

Email: info@madra.ie

Website: http://www.madra.ie

Charity#: 20072698