Rescue

Airedales in Distress was an idea originally of Mrs D. (Mac) Schulth (Riverina), who donated £100 in memory of Tweedsbairn to get the scheme going and Mrs Barbara Sedorski (Cumnoch) in 1978. To be run on behalf of the S.E.A.T.C. now co-ordinated by Pauline McLynn on their behalf. The aims are more or less the same as when it was started.

Dogs are normally rehomed from home to home. Some go in to all breed rescue centres, they at times contact Pauline as they want people who have had experience with the breed. People ring to be put on a list and depending on their experience with dogs, especially Airedales, and whether they have other pets, the ages of their children if they have any, and visiting children, hours worked, well enclosed garden, as much information as possible. That decides suitability.

It is preferable to have someone contact Pauline by ‘phone as quite a lot can be learnt by talking to the candidates personally. Letters take longer. When I put someone in contact with an owner seeking a new home for their dog, they need to talk at length to each other, to find out as much as possible about the dog and its prospective new home.

Airedale rescue relies on the honesty of owners about possible problem dogs and therefore prospective owners should be aware of this. For this reason it can mean that a dog has had more than one home and can find it difficult to settle. Families can be very upset when not all is revealed. We are very careful in the process but it can be difficult to assess a dog via the telephone.

The ages are usually from four years up to eight and over. Occasionally there are dogs of one to three years old which are a big handful, the owners are often people who have never had an Airedale or any dog before and have not trained or socialised it, and the new owner would have to be prepared to do all that. Puppies coming in to rescue are very few as people pay a lot of money and don’t give up until they can no longer cope.

The main reasons for rescue are; marriages breaking up; some Airedales are very difficult, family emigrating, a death in the family, or medical reasons.

We are not a buying or selling service and ask only for a donation, bearing in mind that for dogs over eight this is not necessary. All the work done for Airedale rescue is voluntary. Papers passed to people given a rescue dog are; vaccination certificates, insurance, micro chipping forms, if relevant to the dog.

Depending on their circumstances people registering for a rescue dog could take one fairly quickly or be waiting indefinitely, depending on the availability. There have been fewer dogs rehomed in recent years and it is very hard to put a figure on how many will be homed this year, one never knows from year to year. This year it could be less than fifteen. There are always more people on the waiting list than dogs available.

Contact: Pauline McLynn Telephone: 0208 6939598 10am – 8.30pm
1 Shelbury Road, East Dulwich, London. SE22 0NL

Photos above are of Oscar, he has owned Gloria and Dave since rehoming over five years ago. Oscar accompanies Dave on marathon runs and has passed his Kennel Club Good Citizen ‘Silver’ Award.