Pet FBI Rescue secures tender to run Pennyburn Dog Pound in Derry

Pet FBI Rescue in Derry have expressed their delight after securing the tender to run the Council’s Dog Pound at Pennyburn Industrial Estate.
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Lisa Patton from the Derry charity said that the move will help ensure all individual dogs brought to the kennels get the full attention, exercise and focus they need.

It will also maximise the chances of reuniting lost pets with their owners, and of finding suitable new families and homes for unwanted or unclaimed dogs via Pet FBI Rescue’s huge social media presence.

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They group confirmed each dog will get walked daily by its volunteers, as well as trips out and individual attention. And, significantly, no dog will be put to sleep unless it is suffering and such a course of action is recommended by a vet.

The dog kennels at the pound in Pennyburn Industrial Estate and one of the dogs brought there in the past.The dog kennels at the pound in Pennyburn Industrial Estate and one of the dogs brought there in the past.
The dog kennels at the pound in Pennyburn Industrial Estate and one of the dogs brought there in the past.

Pet FBI for the past number of years, along with other organisations, have been taking dogs from the dog kennels in Pennyburn in an effort to reunite or rehome home. This has meant that many dogs who would have otherwise been put down were able to find a new home.

Such initiatives have helped of radically reduce the number of dogs being destroyed in the city. Figures obtained by the Journal last year showed that while there were 138 strays impounded and 104 unwanted dogs in Derry & Strabane in the year to April 2020, the vast majority were either reunited with owners, found a new home or were taken in by the charities. Only three were destroyed.

This contrasts with the situation a decade earlier in 2010 when 246 dogs were impounded and destroyed across the then separate city and district councils.

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Pet FBI said they hope to take up residence in the Pennyburn dog pound within weeks, and work is currently under way to paint and refurbish the kennels, which for decades have been run by the local authority.

Lisa, who has been with Pet FBI for seven years, told the Journal: “Over the past 18 months to two years we have taken a lot of dogs out of the Derry pound and we are delighted now to be taking this on.

“There’s a lot more kennels in Pennyburn than what we have at present in our own centre.

“The dogs coming to us will all be neutered through Pet FBI. We have an application process for adoptions and do home checks and after checks, call outs to the house to make sure they are settling in ok.

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“We will work with the dogs on socialisation with other dogs, different people, and we will take them walks twice a day, on trips to the beach ; give them a lot more stimulation and we will do basic training with them as well.”

Lisa said the transfer of responsibility was a major milestone not just for Pet FBI but also for the city itself. She said that the charity will continue to work closely with the Council’s hard working team of dog wardens, who will liaise with them and bring dogs to them at their new base.

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