Ryedale Dog Rescue marks 13th year

Founded in 2005 by Judith and Alan Evans, Jackie Bath and Sue Dixon, RDR gained charitable status two years later and today, besides rehoming dogs throughout Ryedale, delivers talks and presentations across the county to help raise awareness about animal welfare and the stray dog problem in particular.

All too often, Rosie Stephenson, who now runs RDR, tells me, folk approach her saying things like, “But animal neglect doesn’t happen here in Ryedale does it?” This, she fears, is because they don’t see it.

Looking after an animal, providing the right amount of care and attention, is a long-term undertaking and sometimes, for a variety of reasons, people find themselves in a situation where they can no longer cope.

Such was the case for Barney. Story has it that his original owner left the country, leaving him in the care of elderly family members.

Barney is a cross-breed or, as we used to say in my day, a mongrel. Today, however, he is classed as a “designer breed”, ie a “Shug” or cross between a Shih Tzu and a Pug.

When he was a puppy I have little doubt that someone paid a substantial amount of money for him. He had been micro-chipped and inoculated, but at five years old he found himself in the care of folk who simply could not meet his needs.

His coat had become matted so badly that his fur was like felt. His nails were so long that they had curled round and were digging into the pads of his paws, making walking difficult.

Shaving him was a mammoth task requiring sedation, and was carried out at Eastgate Vets in Pickering.

This provided the opportunity for the vet to cut his nails and to look at his teeth, which were also causing him a problem; but just look at him now.

A delightful little chap, he is all ready to go to a loving, “fur-ever”, knowledgeable home. I do hope that he goes on to enjoy the good life that he so richly deserves, but I also wish that, when breeders of any kind hand over a puppy, it is done under the proviso that should circumstances change and the animal can no longer be kept, that it is returned to be rehomed responsibly.

Then there was the case of Henry, a Labradoodle, picked up as a stray last year and handed over to RDR when he remained unclaimed, after his statutory seven days at the council holding kennel in Weaverthorpe.

Rosie told me that Henry had weighed just 14kgs on arrival, the lower part of his body was just a double-hand width in circumference.

Over the course of the next 14 days, Henry gained a whopping 7kg and today he is a happy, healthy boy, with a new family who adore him. The last time that Rosie spoke to his owner, he weighed over 30kgs.

Over the course of the last 13 years, there have been many changes in the county with regard to animal welfare, with one of the most far reaching being the redundancy of the council dog warden and animal welfare officer in March of last year.

The last dog warden, Brian Dunn, worked very closely with Rosie in a number of areas and particularly with regard to the rehoming of strays and I know that his presence is sorely missed.

As for stray dogs, the police are not responsible for them unless they are involved in an accident, and instructions on the Ryedale District Council website direct folk finding a stray dog, during normal working hours, to email the Community Team.

Outside of normal office hours you can either hold onto the dog until the next working day, when arrangements will be made for collection or you can take it to one of the appointed kennels by contacting the Ryecare Service on 01653 697737.

If you are unable, or unwilling to do either of the above, you are asked to contact the Ryecare Service.

The council does not provide a collection service for stray dogs out of hours and the police will not accept them.