ORGANISERS of a national dog walk in aid of the Carers Association of Ireland gathered last Thursday at the Petmania store at the Jetland Shopping Centre to announce details of the upcoming fundraiser.
The event which will see dog walks taking place simultaneously all over Ireland on the same day will kick off in Limerick on Easter Monday April 5 at 2pm.
Described by Limerick’s centre manager Steffani Jade McDonagh as a “fun day out for families, colleagues and four legged friends”, the walk will be 5k in distance and will begin and finish at the Petmania store at the Jetland shopping centre with all dog lovers invited to come along and take part!
Comedian and animal lover Pat Shortt and his beautiful labrador Rosie officially launched the fundraiser last Thursday morning and Steffani was thrilled with the turnout for the launch.
“We are absolutely delighted with the support we received from both Pat who launched the event and those who attended here today and we look forward to raising funds for the Carers Association on the big day,” she said.
The Petmania group meanwhile will be showing their support for the event with walks taking place at their branches all over Ireland, making it the first national dog walk of it’s kind.
All funds raised from sponsorship of the event will go to the Carers Association which was established in 1987 in response to the need for recognition of family carers and their rights and entitlements in Ireland.
To take part in this special sponsored dog walk and help raise funds for this crucial organisation log onto www.carersireland.com or telephone 061 310434 for your sponsorship card today.

Dear Catriona,
I read the article in the Limerick Post recently regarding the abandoned ponies. It was quite disturbing to learn that anyone would inflict such unnecessary pain and suffering on an animal and display such little respect for them. I see that the ISPCA has nowhere to house these ponies at the moment, so may I suggest that you try to engage local farmers to temporarily allow some of these stray ponies to roam their land, with the ISPCA paying for their fodder.
This would allow some time to find suitable homes for them.
As for the farmers, this would mean just adding one or more animal to an already large number, so it should not affect them too much.
Let me know if I can do anything to help this dreadful situation.
Kindest regards
Elizabeth by email

Hello to all at Limerick Post Pet Section
I am delighted to say that my German Shepard dog “Butters” was found safe and unharmed after almost a week of being missing!
Despite being a little muddier than usual, he seemed happy and healthy! Thank you for putting his picture in the Limerick Post.
Also a big thank you to Martin from Oola who rang us to tell us that he spotted Butters around the Oola area.
It’s a pity that dogs cannot talk because I bet that he could have some great stories to tell!
Thanks again,
Jenny by email.

Hi Catriona,
I have very good news we got Millie back yesterday she was picked up on the road thanks to Tony Carroll. Tony noticed her on the paper and gave us a call. We are very grateful to you and the Limerick Post paper for your support.
Many thanks, regards Brid by email.

It’s been a very difficult time for Ireland’s hotel trade over the last year with many establishments coming up with various offers and promotions to generate new business.
As a result hotel management are having to come up with new ideas to attract customers and pets are benefitting from this as even five star establishments across Ireland are now opening their doors to pets! This new business strategy is a bid to attract a new market of pet owners who wish to holiday at home in Ireland with their furry friends!
Some animal accommodating resorts are even going as far as offering spa type services for both dogs and cats that range from grooming to massage! However it’s important if you see ‘pet friendly’ on a venue’s website or brochure that you check what this means as some simply offer kennel space while others offer pure luxury! Even time share properties abroad are now offering dedicated suites to beloved pets in a bid to stimulating a stagnant market, so now is the best time ever to holiday away with your pet! So why not check out websites like www.selfcatering.ie, www.ireland-guide.com, www.pets.dreamireland.com, www.hidden-ireland.com/petfriendly-cottages to name but a few to book your next pet friendly holiday!

Lucy home at long last

Dear Everyone,
Firstly I must thank you all for your help, support, kind words and encouragement over the last 277 days. Yes two hundred and seventy seven days in total!
Today I am so happy to let you all know, Lucy the Lurcher will be back home tomorrow.
I received a call at 4.50pm this evening from Geena at Paws.ie animal shelter to let me know they have Lucy!
I have no other details as was so happy to hear the news I couldn’t think speak or do anything except go Oh my God…. is it her are you sure?
First thing tomorrow morning we are going to collect her.
So HUGE thanks to you all.
Lorna by email
PS: Make sure and get your pets chipped as only for Lucys chip we might never of got her home…

Change of venue..
Hi Catriona,
Just to let your readers know we are having the postponed New Years Day swim this coming Sunday February 7 in Kilkee.
The Kilkee Bay (which was mentioned in last week’s story) will not be open, so we have made arrangements with the Stella Maris Hotel to have rooms available with hot showers for the swimmers and we will also be able to get hot food there after the swim. We all hope to meet at the Stella Maris between 12 and 12.15pm on Sunday and the swim should take place at 12.30pm.  We will probably use the part of the beach near to the Stella Maris so that the swimmers won’t have far to go after the swim.
If you could give this a mention in this weeks Pets page, we would be grateful.
Many thanks Anne by email
Hi Catriona,
It is with regret that I have to advise that the Limerick Animal Welfare Sanctuary had to close to-day due to a virus in the kennels.  We will remain closed until further notice.  We will review the situation again in two weeks.

The bad weather over the Christmas period has led to a huge demand for our services.  We have done our best to accommodate as many animals as possible but at present we only have one isolation kennel which was designed to cater for dogs.  Our cats continue to be housed in temporary wooden buildings.  The situation is far from ideal and overcrowding in the kennels has contributed to the outbreak of this virus.

We urgently need to start Phase 2 of our building programme which will provide a purpose built isolation facility for cats and kittens.  We also need to build our main building which will contain a Veterinary Clinic and rehoming kennels for dogs and cats.  It will also provide badly needed office accommodation and service areas.  This is a huge undertaking at a time when our funds are at an all time low but we have no option but to do our utmost to provide better facilities for the abandoned animals.

We are most grateful to the all our supporters and volunteers who continue to help us each day and ask the public for co-operation during this most difficult crisis.
We would like to make an urgent appeal for donations to our Sanctuary Building Fund to enable us to go forward with the Building programme.

In case of emergency the phone numbers to ring are :  061 336740 and 087 6371044

Marion Fitzgibbon
Chairperson,
Limerick Animal Welfare
www.limerickanimalwelfare.ie

GOOD NEWS for those of you who were disappointed over the festive season by the cancellation of the annual Limerick Animal Welfare New Year swim. The event which is always a favourite on the pet calendar was understandably postponed due to the adverse weather conditions in the interest of health and safety.
However organisers have informed me that the popular swim will now go ahead in Kilkee on Sunday February 7, the first Sunday of Spring and hopefully the weather will be more forgiving than it has been!
So for those of you interested in taking part and those of you wanted to cheer on the swimmers, the event will begin at 12.30 on Kilkee beach and afterwards there will be a coach complete with heaters to bring the swimmers back to the Kilkee Bay hotel where rooms will be provided and  the swimmers can have hot showers.  According to Anne Dynan of LAW, the voluntary organisation are hoping for a good turn out both at the swim (which is really just a fun splash about!) and afterwards at the Kilkee Bay where prizes will be awarded including  Best Fancy Dress, Youngest Swimmer, Longest In The Water etc,  with everyone who takes part receiving a rosette and a commemorative scroll. There will also be a raffle for all the swimmers who take part. So why not make it a family occasion and bring along your furry friends too! Hot drinks will be served on the beach during the event and it’s sure to be a great day out!
Sponsorship cards are available from Eileen on 087 2955 682 see you all there!

WHILE THE recent cold spell had a negative effect on many of us with roads, water systems and schools affected, spare a thought also for the other not so obvious victims of the treacherous weather.
According to the chairperson of voluntary organisation, Limerick Animal Welfare, Marion Fitzgibbon, the staff at the LAW have had a very busy few months with the amount of abandoned and neglected horses at an all time high due to the bitterly cold weather.
Hay and straw have been scarce during the last few months and as a result many of the stray horses in the Limerick area are simply starving. According to Marion, LAW have been inundated daily with huge volumes of calls from the public, making it impossible to respond to every case and stretching their already strained resources.
“At present if a horse is straying in a public area or on County Council land then it can  be seized by the County Council and held at a private pound in Cork for a minimum of five days pending reclamation by their owners and all horses are microchipped while they are detained at the pound. Many horses have the fines paid and are released on payment of the amount due and horses can be detained in the pound a second time and given back again on payment of the fine.  If the horse is then seized a third time it can be held,” she explains”.
But according to Marion it’s the horses being dumped on private property that are causing a huge problem “These horses cannot be seized as they technically the responsibility of the unfortunate landowner who’s land they’ve strayed onto or been dumped on and although we have been attending to as many emergency calls as possible each day, to date we have not found any horse with a microchip,” she points out.
“Limerick Animal Welfare then ends up responsible for all the expenses involved in calling a vet and attending to the sick and injured animals and we can never trace the owner of the horses as they are not microchipped causing huge problems, the fact is all horses should be microchipped and licenced” she says.
Marion’s frustration is obvious when it comes to dealing with the issue. “The current laws are totally inadequate to deal with the situation on the ground, we continually find horses in deplorable condition and the suffering is impossible to describe”.
“There is an EU Commission Regulation 504/2008 which states that all equines born in or, imported into the EU must if they have not been identified prior to July 1 2009 be identified by means of passport and microchip. The regulation covers horses, ponies donkeys and other equidae and I’m trying to find out from organisations like the Department of Agriculture whether this can be enforced within Ireland” she explains.
Limerick County Council Chief Veterinary inspector John McCarthy can sympathise with the situation. “We are very busy dealing with rescuing horses under the ‘Control of Horses Act’ but certainly because of the recession there are more and more cases of horses not being fed or cared for, but when these horses are abandoned on private land it then becomes a civil issue between the land owner and the owner of the horse and if it’s a case where the horse is neglected it then becomes a welfare issue”. There is indeed an EU directive in place since July last year but a lot of older horses are still not microchipped and  ultimately in an ideal world all horses should be microchipped” he said.
As for Limerick Animal Welfare’s involvement, Marion says she believes the current laws surrounding horses are making a terrible situation totally impossible”.
“Only recently I was called to a very sad situation in Monaleen Park, Castletroy, a horse lay dying at the side of a green area where the fencing had been cut to allow access to a piece of land at the side of the motorway, unfortunately the small pony had lain there in a ditch for several days and had not been seen by passers-by as it was not visible from the roadway. The poor animal was frozen cold and could not stand, it was down on its back and could barely move and I had to call an Equine vet and with the help of good neighbours we managed to attend to the animal while we waited for the Vet’s arrival”.
“Unfortunately the poor horse had to be put down immediately as he was suffering from lock-jaw and was partially disabled already. He was only a yearling and he had suffered for days”.
“As I was leaving the field I asked the vet what we could have done for this poor animal if we had found him on time.  He said all he needed to protect him was a vaccine for tetanus which would protect him for life.  The cost of the vaccine is just €12, such a simple low cost vaccine and this poor animal might have been saved. We really need a dedicated horse and donkey sanctuary in Limerick,” Marion says. We have no hoists, no horse boxes or barn or experts and we certainly don’t have the funds to cope with these situations”. “Only the other night we had to get five men to carry one poor horse to safety because we didn’t have the equipment”. “Something needs to be done to ensure that the horses are given better protection under the law in Ireland and the strange situation is that there is a big fuss when an animal is actually dead” she exclaims.
“When this happens collection services are available and details of the exact location are required as a matter of urgency but when a horse is dying late in the afternoon at the side of the motorway no services are available” she sadly points out.
*To make a donation to Limerick Animal Welfare log onto www.limerickanimalwelfare.com or call 063 91110.

Hi Catriona,
We had no response to the Labrador found last week in the Castletroy/Aishling Annacotty area. But we got a call from Limerick Animal Welfare on Tuesday and have now rehomed him in the Ennis region. I dropped him off to his new home and he has settled in well. Take care and Thanks again for your help.
Paul by email.

Hi Catriona,
I hope all is good with you. I just wanted to write and tell you, that the owner of the blind terrier advertised last week and this week was found.
Thank you so much for putting him on the paper.  We’d be lost without you!
Eila by email

Hi Catriona,
I am happy to let you know that through your Pets Page the owners of “Chuckie” have now been reunited with their dog. Chuckie was thrilled to be going home and after telling him to stay safe and stay in his own garden we waved him off. Thanks to the kind person who spotted him on your page and alerted the owners to contact us. Another happy ending.
We plead with people to tag (its the law) or microchip you dog and their return would be swift when found.
Thanks again Catriona,
Marie Quirke, LAW by email
PS: On another note, the missing Husky from the Hospital/Knocklong area was returned it to his owner during the the really bad weather, snow and ice.

Hi Catriona,
I recently sent you in a picture of my lost dog Troy’ – well we found him, in Garryowen, ya don’t ask, as we don’t know how he managed to get out there either, as we live in Caherdavin. Anyway I’d just like to say thanks for all your help. I appreciate it.
Yours sincerely
Gareth by email.