Derry rescue organisation Pet FBI on how to adopt a dog in their care

Lisa Patton is a manager at the centre. She said: “We’re all volunteers here and we work it around work and our own children. We do morning and evening shifts because the morning shifts can be done when the kids are in school and the evening shifts are around bed time. It is very busy most days. We had a new dog in this morning and we have two more coming in this afternoon from the dog warden so that’s three new dogs today alone.

“If the dog is a stray, they have to do their five day stray time, then we get the dogs vaccinated, neutered, wormed and flead before they are put up for adoption. The time it takes for them to be adopted all depends on how fast we can get vet appointments. We have five in for neutering tomorrow who will probably be available for adoption next week.

“Some dogs take longer than others; bigger dogs tend to take longer whereas the small ones are always away quickly. There’s a couple at the minute that might have a hard time finding a home. The retriever, Holly, she’s nine so she’ll probably be here a while. But she’s so sweet and she’s so good, it’s a shame. Wee Rookie, the collie pup, he has been here for a while but he’s still so nervous, especially with new people so it will be harder to find him a home, too.

“There’s mixed emotions to see the dogs go. You really don’t want to see them in kennels so you’re glad on that front but you’re sad to see them go too. I always say, as much as I love the dogs, I hope I never see them again!”

Not all dogs are kept in the kennels, some dogs spend their time in rescue in a foster home.

Lisa explained: “We generally like to get puppies into foster. They’re too small and vulnerable to be around bigger dogs. Dogs who have health problems also go into foster, ones who need to be monitored. We make the vet appointments for the foster parents but they take them and then just keep us updated on how they’re doing. Having them in a foster home is good for the dogs to get a sense of home life.

“Our Facebook page is open from 9am to 11pm and it is just non-stop. The phone lines open from 10am to 8pm and then the centre is open by appointment only if you’re looking to come down and see the dogs. Obviously, we’re still weary of Covid but we’re also just so busy at the minute. We’ve so many vet runs and dogs we need to look out for so it’s best to book in.

“If you’re interested in a dog then, we’ll send you an application form. We then look at the applications and see if they match the dog. There’s dogs that we know can’t be around children, like the wee yorkie we have in now, so if the applicant has any children coming into the home, that dog isn’t right for them.”

For more information on Pet FBI, to adopt a dog or to enquire about volunteering, email [email protected] or contact the page on Facebook.