Animals in Need: Four adorable puppies looking for new homes

It has been a busy start to the year for the volunteers at Animals In Need (AIN), Donegal.

AIN’s fosterers continued to care for rescued cats and dogs throughout the festive season and there were emergency call outs and trips to the Letterkenny Dog Shelter to collect dogs, and to vets with sick animals.

READ NEXT: Warning to south Donegal pet owners as cat dies from poisoning

Four little puppies were taken into foster care just before Christmas. The Maltese/Jack Russell cross pups are 12 weeks old and there are three boys and a girl.

The female pup, Skye, was born with a deformity to her front leg, but she is a lively little girl and it does not stop her from holding her own when she is with her brothers.

AIN volunteers travelled to the Letterkenny Pound to collect any dogs that were left in there before Christmas and once again just before the New Year.

On their New Year visit, there was only one pup in the Pound, a little terrier called Hudson.

He had been found straying around Stranorlar and had not been claimed.

Hudson is a few weeks older than the other pups and all five pups are ready for adoption now, having been vaccinated, microchipped and treated for any parasites.

Three of the pups have home checks arranged for this week and hopefully will then be adopted.

If you are interested in offering a home to one of these delightful pups, please contact the charity to request an application form or see their profiles on AIN’s Facebook page.

There was an exceptional number of dogs being lost and found over the holidays, some of them were lost accidentally but others were no doubt deliberately dumped and several were frightened by fireworks. Overall, it was an extremely hectic time.

The cat rescuers were also kept busy.

As ‘Kitten Season’ now seems to last all year round, small kittens are still being found around the county, but many of them are sick and struggling in the cold and wet conditions.

Three beautiful, fluffy kittens were rescued after becoming ill. They had been born to a feral mother but their condition had deteriorated and by the time AIN was alerted, the kittens were in a very bad way, weak, suffering from cat flu and with eye infections.

Sadly, it was too late to save two of the kittens, who passed away.

However, Payton, the largest kitten, is responding to treatment and is doing well, so fingers crossed for him.

AIN also rescued several strays during the holidays, including responding to an emergency call out to a lovely cat who was jaundiced, dehydrated, drooling, barely able to stand, and had blood on two of his legs.

The cat was rushed straight to the out of hours emergency vets but sadly, the findings were not good. He had a front and a back leg covered in deeply infected bites, possibly from fights. One leg also had severe ligament damage and both legs would have had to be amputated, which was not an option.

Had he only come in sooner, before the bites got so badly infected, he would have had a chance to recover. As it was, there was only one choice for him and he had to be put to sleep to end his suffering.

If a kind lady had not spotted him and contacted AIN, this poor cat would still be out there, in pain and dying slowly. If you see a cat in distress, please seek help for them right away.

Another cat was brought in at the weekend, who was believed to be in labour, but it turned out she had a blockage in her intestines and was rushed to the vets.

She is currently on a drip and has been given strong laxatives and hopefully the blockage will shift.

In better news, adoptions have reopened for 2025 and several kittens have found new homes, including Kevin and the other four ‘Home Alone’ kittens.

Finally, a huge thank you to everyone who donated toys to the rescued animals through AIN’s Santa Paws appeal.

The fostered cats and dogs had a great time playing with their new toys over Christmas.

For further information on adoption, fostering, volunteering etc, please contact the main helpline on 087 1356188. For cat/kitten enquiries please call 087 7644420. Animals In Need Donegal is also on Facebook and has a website at http://www.animalsinneeddonegal.com

,,