This post is purely for information purposes. Nobody is looking for a clap on the back or to be told they are great.
This post is to increase people's awareness of how we operate.
From talking and interacting with people over the last few months, it seems people think that Husky Rescue Ireland is ran from a central office by a number of staff members who are there on a daily basis.
This is not even remotely close to what goes on behind the scenes.
Husky Rescue Ireland a charity ran 95% of the time by Andy & Tara who have families and dogs of their own to love and look after.
On a daily basis, these are the bits I've seen, as a volunteer, but I'm sure there's more that we don't see going on in the background and this is just for the Rescue Dogs.
What needs to be done every day at Husky Rescue Ireland:
Preparing the morning feeds for the dogs - some are on special diets, some on medications etc
Feed each dog (20 to 30 dogs)
First round of dogs out in play areas
Each dog run mopped out, fresh bedding & water in
Repeat 4 to 5 times depending on how many dogs
Rotate dogs in play areas
Work with some of the dogs - training, socialisation etc.
Brush out some of the dog's coats
Spend time with anxious/nervous dogs to help them trust again
Prepare 2nd round of food
Feed each dog again
Rotate all dogs outside again
Close up area for the night.
All of the above on top of:
Vet appointments - arranging and organising transport to and from.
Grooming appointments - arranging and organising transport to and from.
Dog transport - national and international.
Back-up support for dogs in foster care and already adopted.
Paperwork to be organised for each dog - passport (if needed), microchip information, vaccination cards etc.
Meet & Greets with potential adopters/fosters.
Finalising adoptions.
Taking in dogs from Pounds etc.
Phone calls from everyone - vets, pounds, people enquiring about dogs, people giving up dogs, fundraising campaigns, etc.
Interacting, supervising and instructing team members.
The physical aspect is probably easier to deal with than the mental torture of dealing with cruelty cases and the sad loss of dogs who didn't make it due to neglect. Pressure to take dogs in when there is no space can cause anxiety and inner turmoil at times.
The mental and physical effort put in is above and beyond what anyone else would do.
The other 5% is what the rest of us do to try to help out whenever we can. We have volunteers from all over - Dublin, Down, Offaly, Kildare to name a few and even Andorra! We rarely, if ever, see one another at the Centre, we stay connected on social media to discuss, plan and carry out what needs to be done - fundraising, rehoming, merchandising, volunteer recruiting and more.
The second reason for increasing awareness of how we actually operate is to make people understand:
If we miss your call and don't call you back for a bit, it's not personal, everyone is busy doing essential work.
If you are messaging Volunteer "X" today and Volunteer "Y" answers you tomorrow, it's just both volunteers trying to make sure you get sorted out.
If you ask for information on a facebook post and don't get a reply, we didn't ignore you, we didn't see it.
Husky Rescue Ireland has always been about the dogs and it always will be.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support, it is always appreciated.
Signed, HRI Volunteer
If you'd like to join us as a volunteer, please visit our Volunteering Page to find out more and fill in an application form.