Derry's Rainbow Rehoming Centre appeals for funds amid struggles with vet bills

The Derry pet rescue centre recently revealed that it has an outstanding £8,430 bill with one veterinary practice and says it urgently needs financial support.

Anna Hyndman, a trustee at Rainbow who has volunteered at the rescue for 25 years, said their vet bills have ‘soared.’

She said: “We are appealing for funds to cover vet bills, that’s really the biggest cost at the centre, along with our general running bills. The more support we get, the better. It helps us in the long term because it means we can take in more animals. In recent years, a lot of our vets in Derry were taken over by corporations, so we have seen an increase in veterinary costs both for us and for the public.

“While they do offer us a discount and we are very grateful for it, our bills are extremely high.

“Vaccination costs have tripled in price. The baseline of the appeal is that every bill has gone up, especially vet bills.

“The bulk of the pets we take in are stray cats, and dogs who no longer have families, some of that is down to the cost of living. Some of the dogs surrendered to us needed medical attention that owners simply couldn’t afford. They knew their pets needed help, but they couldn’t get them seen.”

Anna highlighted how dramatically their veterinary costs have risen in recent years: in 2023 the centre spent £47,000 on vet bills, in 2024 this increased to £65,000, and for 2025, which will be finalised by the end of May, the total is expected to reach £75,000.

For January this year alone their vet bills came to £8,000.

Anna added that many families are now faced with difficult decisions when it comes to veterinary care, as some simply can no longer afford the rising costs.

The Rainbow Rehoming Centre encourages pet owners to get pet insurance.

“Sometimes the vets come under fire, they have high overheads too," said Anna.

Anna said the centre will cut its pet intakes to keep the doors open. She explained: “We’ve seen a lot of rescues come and go. Friends of Rescue has announced that they are closing

their doors for now.

“Derry City is a big area for us. It has become a real worry that one day our own doors could close but we will never allow that to happen. We believe it’s better to help a few animals than none at all.”

Anna said the rising costs and the possibility of Rainbow Rehoming having to close its doors have taken a toll on the volunteers.

“It is very stressful,” Anna said. “We are a small group of people and we all have our own personal lives. Many of us have jobs, we’re raising families and dealing with things at home, we're just regular people.

“But we are a strong, dedicated team and we try our very best. We would all love to have more funds because ultimately it means we can help more animals.”

To support the Rainbow Rehoming you can help them raise funds to help more pets you can donate here: https://www.rainbowrehoming.com/donate.html