Updated November 29, 2020
Those who have been following our Facebook will know about the three dogs owned by a victim of domestic violence. She was taken to hospital and her dogs were in urgent need of emergency housing. Now that their owner has found safe accommodation, she has been reunited wth her beloved dogs and it is safe to tell their story.
Here at Walkerville Vet we have been involved in a program to organise foster and vet care for the pets of DV victims. Up to recently, women forced to take refuge in shelter accommodation have been forced to leave their pets behind. Not only is this distressing, but it will make them less likely to leave abusive situations.
This is where Wendy and David from Golden Grove Boarding Kennels have done something amazing. When we received an urgent request to house three dachshund terrier cross dogs we knew straight away this was going to be near-impossible. Council regulations do not make it easy to keep more than two dogs, and most of the people we know who can do foster care already have a dog. After all, we value their doggy experience.
We put out a plea on Facebook which was widely shared and liked (thank you everyone) but despite everyone wanting to help, it wasn’t possible to find these dogs a home.
With the situation getting more desperate day by day, I (Andrew) decided to resort to a truly ridiculous idea. What if we called a few of the boarding kennels we know to do a good job and ask a giant favour? Ridiculous but what was there to lose?
This is no ordinary favour. If a boarding kennel were crazy enough to donate a space to house these dogs they would be throwing away business and income, and working harder. I felt ridiculous even asking for such a thing especially over the peak school holiday period.
I made a phone call to Wendy and David who run Golden Grove Boarding Kennels and was met with an enthusiastic response. I couldn’t be happier (if a little stunned). This is the kennel where I chose to put my ‘special needs’ dog, and they get excellent reports from our fussiest clients.
From now on, this outstanding act of charity and sacrifice deserves our complete support. It shows that Wendy and David care about what they do and are prepared to show it in their actions. Who says we can’t find selfless acts in today’s society!
I urge everyone who needs boarding to try Golden Grove Boarding Kennels and Cattery first. Visit them at https://www.goldengroveboardingkennels.com. And don’t forget we need all the foster homes we can get for dogs and cats so contact us if you can help house one or two!
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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.