DOZENS of dogs who were scheduled to die have been rescued by a local couple.
Andrew and Julie Feist run The Hullabaloo Sanctuary in Tamlaght, which is a charity currently caring for over 25 rescue dogs.
The couple, who moved to Fermanagh in 2018, rescue unclaimed dogs from the pound, who would ordinarily be put down if they are not adopted within 5-14 days.
“I used to work with search dogs in my younger years, so when I met Julie and she had her own rescue dogs, our love for them just grew,” said Andrew.
In 2019 they opened their home to a very sad case, a paralysed German Shepherd they rescued from the pound.
Julie explained, “He had a wheelchair which he hated and much preferred to be independent. Once he was with our others dogs he went from being shut down and depressed to happy and content.
“We named our beloved Shepard Baloo, and expected a couple of months with him which ended up being three and half years. “
Baloo passed away in March 2023 but in his memory The Hullabaloo Sanctuary was born. Creating a charity in his name gave Julie and Andrew the financial security to open their doors to many more Baloos because unfortunately cruelty, neglect and disposing of animals isn’t uncommon. Fermanagh and Omagh had 625 recorded complaints in 2023 regarding animal welfare
The Sanctuary has quite the mixture of dogs from large wolf hounds to small terriors. Some are blind or deaf. They have older dogs that suffer from dementia and a few with missing limbs. No dog is unlovable.
Julia said, “We get offered perfectly rehomeable dogs all the time and we will pass that information onto rescues so they can find them perfect homes.
“We want to take those that don’t have that luxury, the desperate cases that have nowhere and no one else to look after them. We offer them a safe sanctuary and care for the rest of their days.”
Owning 20 plus dogs would seem like a dream to many pet lovers but because of the vet and food bills their monthly fees can be extortionate. Once the food bills reached £700 a month they had no choice but to explore other options.
Andrew said, “We both have to work in order to survive and to pay our house bills because we don’t take any of the donations for our own needs, every single penny goes to the dogs.”