Rainbow staff braced for busy New Year

Centre Manager, Jemma Health, said: “January is usually very busy with calls in reference to unwanted kittens or puppies, received as surprise Christmas presents and unwanted older dogs, as the family have got a new puppy for Christmas.

“We look forward to a New Year but with it comes the sad facts; the continuous cycle of unwanted pets; the puppy farms will be empty and our centre staff and volunteers will be worked off their feet trying to re-home those unwanted Christmas presents.”

Ms. Health said at this time of year it can prove difficult to find ‘forever families’ for pets at the centre: “Many people choose to pay hundreds of pounds for puppies because they are young, or come with a piece of paper that tells you they are ‘pure breed’- in our rescue centre breed, size or age does not matter, we want to offer them all the same chance and we can only do that with the continued support of the public.

“When you rescue from us you are not only offering to change that animal’s life, what most people do not realise is we have queues of animals waiting for a space in our centre and when you rehome one animal you are allowing another to take its space.”

To support the charity, which is solely reliant on donations, check out their Christmas Wish Appeal on Facebook or purchase their calendar for £5, with every penny going directly to the charity, thanks to sponsors. It is available at Jollyes, Pets at Home, Rainbow Charity Shop Waterloo Place and The Rainbow Centre, Ballygudden Road.