As we come up to the winter season, families will be reminded of the all-important warning that a dog is for life, not just for Christmas, coming off the back of the COVID-19 pandemic where an estimated 3.2 million UK households purchased a pet.
Tragically, despite the rising numbers of pets finding new homes during this period, charity Dogs Trust recently announced that they received a 35% increase in calls related to giving up dogs which they welcomed into their home from lockdown.
Based in Tonbridge, Paws and Claws Adopt & Foster Rescue are extremely passionate with aims to find homes for each dog and cat that they take under their wing as well as provide Rescue Backup.
CommunityAd spoke to founder Trish McMorran about her wonderful adoption and rescue centre…
How long have Paws and Claws Adopt & Foster Rescue been running and can you inform readers of how you were able to set this up from scratch and the difficulties you faced along the way?
I started the rescue in 2016, because this rescue is mainly foreign based, the laws are quite complicated based on at the time the EU pet passport rules and later a common system called TRACES for rescues.
We are a non-profit, so all funds raised are used for the dogs and cats under the rescue. More challenges have come with Brexit which we have negotiated through. This is a fluid situation, so changes are happening all the time, we have to keep up with DEFRA rule changes.
Your website states that Paws and Claws Adopt & Foster Rescue serves as a vessel to protect your passions. Can you explain to readers what those passions are?
My passion for animals started when I rescued my first cat abandoned on my estate in Tonbridge in 2008. From this moment on I became more aware of the plight of strays. I then accidentally got involved with foreign rescue and proceeded to adopt 2 dogs from Romania and one from Spain. I have 5 cats in total, 3 from Spain and 2 from Romania.
What would you say have been the most rewarding experiences at Paws and Claws?
Fostering by far, watching scared animals blossom and grow and go on to be very happy with their adopters.
Can you explain why fostering/adopting dogs and cats from a rescue centre is so much more ethical than buying animals from breeders?
Most good rescues need to provide Rescue Back Up. A large number of breeders do not give this. We will take back our animals when there is a need. There are so many animals waiting for homes who are not designer breeds, just mutts wanting love and a home.
There will always be people who will not rescue unfortunately and rescues are always looking to take on abandoned animals. The love a rescued animal gives is amazing and wins every time in my book.
How difficult have the past 19 months for you been through COVID-19?
Actually, COVID was a great period for rehoming, although we had to make sure that the adopters were able to keep the animals post COVID. For the most part this has been successful. There are always some that are not able to due to unforeseen circumstances but on the main it’s been good.
If a reader would like to enquire about adopting/fostering, how would they go about it?
First, I would say please read the FAQ’s on our website. Also, our terms and conditions of adoption. If they are interested in adopting a cat or dog, then you would have to complete a pre adoption form. This enables us to help match pet to adopters. We are always in need of fosters. We pay vet’s bills, and aside from that, the foster looks after and nurtures as if they are the adopters. We have fostering agreements and adoption contracts. All our animals are dual chipped to the rescue.
Do you have a 5-10-year goal for Paws and Claws?
I am a very small rescue and I really plan to keep it this way. I want to be able to know I am not over my head with bills for animals needing vet care or if I need dogs to go to rehabilitation centres.
So, my plan is to be slow and steady and keep slowly homing very grateful animals some badly abused to enjoy their best lives.