Help Us In Our Work

At the Dog Welfare Network we have a clear set of aims and objectives that we’re seeking to achieve. These include:

• The support of existing dog rescue organisations in their work, helping to provide resources and raise awareness of their role.
• The development of a large-scale dog population management programme, introducing neutering schemes, thus reducing the numbers of unwanted dogs.
• The funding of education programmes to change people’s attitudes towards dogs and help them to become more responsible owners.

In order to achieve these aims, we are looking to recruit more volunteers to our organisation. We are looking for people who may be able to visit local rescue organisations and promote their work; people who can translate our web copy and literature into other European languages; people who can assist with fundraising; individuals to help with admin duties and any other tasks within the organisation.

To find out more please visit www.dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk/our_organisation.html

You can contact us via Twitter, or by clicking on the envelope logo on our website.

Can you help?

Caring For The Dogs Of Italy

The municipal dog shelters of Italy are given government funding per dog, encouraging them to take in as many as possible for maximum gain, resulting in overcrowding and poor care. However, there is an alternative to these shelters.

Rifugio Fata is an independent dog shelter in Calabria, Southern Italy, run by Francesca and her caring team. The shelter doesn’t receive any government money, but is funded entirely by donations. The dogs are well looked after by the dedicated volunteers, with great emphasis put on promoting education initiatives and changing attitudes in the local community.

For more information about Rifugio Fata, please visit http://www.dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk/italy-rifugio_fata.html

Rifugio Fata,

88046 Lamézia, Calabria, Italy

Telephone: +39 340 591 0203

Email: rifugiofata@libero.it or francescascerbo2011@libero.it

Blog: http://rescuevito.blogspot.co.uk

Also in Southern Italy, you’ll find Lega Pro Animale, which is foremost a clinic, not a rehoming centre. Its main aim is to spay and neuter dogs and cats to reduce the stray population. However, some animals do end up in their care for various reasons, and are looking for permanent, loving homes. All animals at Lega Pro Animale are spayed and neutered, without exception.

For more information about Lega Pro Animale, please visit http://www.dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk/italy-lega_pro_animale.html

Lega Pro Animale

Via Mario Tommaso, 81030 Castel Volturno CE, Italy

Telephone: 0823 859552

Email: form via website

Website: http://legaproanimale.org

A System Of Sharing

When we originally formed the Dog Welfare Network, although we eventually aimed to reduce the number of stray and unwanted dogs by the implementation of wider neutering programmes, our immediate thought was to link existing dog rescue organisations together in some way, so that resources and knowledge could be shared.

On trips to some of the Greek islands, we became aware of how many dog shelters existed in a small area, seemingly unaware of each other and the opportunity there was to share their skills and resources. We therefore set up our website www.dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk to let centres across Europe and the UK learn more about one another, as well as help them to be recognised by the general public.

Since joining Twitter we have learned of so many wonderful dog rescue organisations around the UK, working tirelessly, often with extremely limited resources, to care for and re-home stray and abandoned dogs. We often see requests made for bedding and food items, home-checkers and dog walkers, which set us wondering whether any centres ever receive a slight surplus of any item or type of help, whilst still falling short in other areas.

Could the answer to all this be a system to share extra resources with each other and exchange lists of reliable home-checkers and walkers that would be happy to serve more than one centre in a given area?

How would you feel about such a system? Please feel free to leave your comments, thoughts or requests on this blog, or tweet us @dogwelfarenet to have your say or to leave details of items or services that you need, or those that you can offer to other like-minded dog rescue centres.

Together we can help stray and abandoned dogs.

Developing The Dog Welfare Network

At Dog Welfare Network we’re aiming to create a centre of expertise to assist our partner organisations, encouraging more professionalism within the dog rescue sector.

We’ve already started to build a register of dog rescue organisations across Europe (see www.dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk/network_map.html for more details) and our next task is create a database of volunteers, to assist with the running of our organisation, work on fundraising and support existing dog rescue centres.

Currently we’re looking for volunteers to translate our website and resources into various European languages, so that we can reach a wider number of individuals and organisations. If you can help with this task (and are ideally based in Kent) then please contact us via replies@dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk

We will create a best practice guide to rehoming dogs including a sample questionnaire for home checkers to use and will also provide examples of fostering and adoption agreements for use by our partner organisations.

Ultimately, we will provide a forum for dog rescue organisations to share fund raising ideas and offer support to one another.

We look forward to working with new volunteers and partner organisations in the future.

What Is Our Vision?

At the Dog Welfare Network we care passionately about dogs, the way in which they are treated and the worldwide problem of stray and street dogs. There are far too many dogs being abandoned and left to fend for themselves, with dire consequences.

Our aim is reduce the number of stray and unwanted dogs by the implementation of wider neutering programmes, education schemes and the bringing together of existing resources.

What is our ultimate aim? One of our founder members explains:

“Our vision is of a world where every dog is loved and treated with respect. There will be no homeless, stray dogs wandering the streets and no healthy dogs have to be put to sleep just because they are unwanted.

We aim to transform the quality of life for dogs worldwide by aiding communities to provide population management and support for community dogs, and aiding adoptions, thus enhancing local environments and enriching human-dog relationships in the process.”

We are looking for volunteers and sponsors to help us with our aims, and will be adding new volunteer information to our website shortly.

Read more at www.dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk

We would value your feedback via replies@dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk regarding any shelters that you may visit.

Our Aim For The Future

At Dog Welfare Network we support a number of dog rescue shelters and organisations across Europe, highlighting the practical and financial support that they need, and explaining what you can do to help.

We promote the fostering and adoption of dogs that have been forced to roam the streets and are often left to suffer or are even abused. But this is only part of the story.

As the old saying goes, “Prevention is better than cure”, therefore the ideal situation would be to reduce the number of dogs left to roam in this way in the first place. How do we do that? By rolling out a multi-national neutering programme, thus reducing the number of unwanted dogs and preventing the problem spiralling even further out of control.

Many dog rescue shelters do operate some kind of neutering programme, but their resources are limited and therefore so is the impact that they are able to make. We ultimately aim to raise funds to initiate and maintain larger neutering programmes in the areas where they are most needed.

In the short term, we will be inviting businesses to advertise on dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk on a page that gives information of a dog shelter in their area, in exchange for the cost of neutering a dog or number of dogs.

You can also visit our website to identify which rescue centres are already running neutering programmes and would welcome your donations.

Don’t let more dogs be born into terrible conditions just to suffer. Let’s look after the dogs that we already have, which includes running a responsible neutering programme.

A Little More About Us

If you’ve only just found us on Twitter, or are reading our Blog for the first time, then you may like to know more about who we are and why we do what we do.

The Dog Welfare Network was created by the founders of Lucky Tales: Dog Rescue Without Borders, a UK-based not-for-profit organisation that rescues dogs from Italy and Greece. We are a very small organisation, dedicated to the improvement of animal welfare across Europe and, indeed, the world, giving our time and effort on a completely voluntary basis.

Based in Kent, we have helped to re-home many dogs from European rescue centres, finding them caring families and individuals in the UK. We oversee the dogs' journey to this country and are in contact with relevant rescue centres across Europe.

However, it came to our notice, that in many countries, dog rescue charities and organisations were operating with minimal resources and were often unknown. In some cases shelters were running in close proximity to one another, striving for the same aims, yet unaware of one another, missing out on a great opportunity to pool resources.

We therefore decided to create a single website bringing together dog rescue organisations around the UK and all of Europe, highlighting their needs and bringing them to the attention of the general public and one another.

All the shelters that we feature are in need of your support, whether it be monetary, through donations of food and equipment or by practical help in the form of dog walking or fostering.

In addition to their needs, as an organisation, we are looking for further sponsorship in order to increase the support that we can give all the wonderful individuals and organisations that are doing so much to help the many stray dogs that are suffering on a daily basis.

What can you do to help?

Please visit our website www.dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk to learn more.

We would value your feedback via replies@dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk about any shelters that you visit, so that we can add up-to-date information and ensure that shelters that are exhibiting bad practice are not being featured on our website.

Thank you for your time and support.

Helping The Stray Dogs of Spain

You may currently be preparing to go on holiday in Spain or one of the nearby islands. As you check out the things to do and the places to visit at your chosen destination, take time to see if there are any dog rescue centres that would appreciate your help while you’re there.

At the Dog Welfare Network, we have information about many dog rescue shelters across Europe including those in Spain.

If you’re travelling to Andalusia, perhaps you could offer some assistance to the people of A.I.D. who look after and try to rehome the stray and abandoned dogs in this area of Malaga. For more information see dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk/spain-aid

Meanwhile in Cadiz, the folk at Happy Ending Final Feliz would appreciate help with walking the dogs that they care for and would appreciate donations of food and bedding. Read more at dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk/spain-happy_ending

S.A.T. on the Costa Blanca would also value your help with practical support and donations. You can see their details at  dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk/spain-sat

At the Dog Welfare Network website you can also read about organisations on the islands of Fuerteventura  Lanzarote and Majorca and what you can do to offer them your help.

Visit www.dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk for more information. We value your feedback on any shelters that you visit, so please contact us via replies@dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk

Thank you for your support.

Why We Started Dog Welfare Network

Our personal experience of witnessing the huge stray dog problem whilst on holiday in areas such as the Greek Islands made us stop and think.

Wandering around holiday destinations sightseeing, we became aware of the number of dogs abandoned on the streets, and decided to seek out dog rescue shelters. On the plus side, we did indeed find them, on the down side many proved to be under-resourced, run by caring volunteers in need of funding and support.

In some areas, although we found shelters not too far apart from one another, they were unaware of each other’s existence, which meant that they were unable to share useful resources, such as transport for dogs offered adoption.

This is why we started The Dog Welfare Network – to inform holidaymakers where they can find dog rescue organisations to support and to make shelters aware of one another so that they can share resources where appropriate.

What we do not intend tourists to do is round up the local dogs they see and take them to the nearest shelter! This is unhelpful and counterproductive.

Instead, we suggest that you visit the shelters, taking gifts of food, bedding and other equipment if you can. Offer your services for dog walking or fund-raising, or leave a monetary donation if you are able. This then assists in caring for the dogs in the shelter and finding them adoptive homes, thus freeing up places to accommodate further strays.

Many centres offer neutering programmes, to reduce the number of future strays, and contributions towards these programmes are very welcome.

The Dog Welfare Network has created a website on which we will be adding details of dog rescue centres around Europe that would value your support. When planning your next holiday, be sure to see what shelters are near your chosen destination, so that you can help too.

Visit our website www.dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk and click on the country in question. If you visit any of the shelters listed, we would value your feedback via replies@dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk

Thank you for your support.

How You Can Help

At the Dog Welfare Network, we are aware that there is a huge number of stray, unwanted, uncared for dogs across the world. Although we are based in the UK, we have seen at first hand the plight of these dogs across Europe and witnessed dog shelters struggling to raise funds and meet the demand for safe places for these abandoned animals.

That’s why we’ve launched our website giving information about many of the dog shelters that exist across the UK and the rest of Europe. Our aim is to raise awareness of dog rescue organisations, so that they may come together and pool their resources whilst enabling members of the general public to help in any way that they can.

It can be heartbreaking when travelling to different countries on holiday or for business, to be met by sights of bedraggled unwanted pets. You may often wonder how you can help them, but leave without doing anything, as you’re not sure what to do.

For future trips, just visit our website www.dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk and click on the country in question. This will enable you to find out what local dog rescue centres there are and what you can do to help them. If you visit any of the shelters listed, we would value your feedback via replies@dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk so that we can add up-to-date information and ensure that shelters that are exhibiting bad practice are not being featured on our website.

Thank you for your support.

A Warm Hello From Dog Welfare Network

Allow us to introduce ourselves. We are a new dog welfare information service and contact point that has been set up by a UK animal rescue organisation based in Kent. We aim to provide contact details and information for dog rescue centres across Europe, allowing dog lovers everywhere to improve the lives of abandoned dogs and assist the rescue centres with vital resources.

You may often have noticed bedraggled, stray dogs whilst visiting other countries on holiday or for business trips. This may have made you stop and think about what you could do to help, but you may have had trouble accessing the information that you need.

That’s where our new website comes in. Over the coming months we will be adding the contact details of a number of rescue centres across Europe, together with suggestions of how you can assist them and keeping you informed of our progress.

If you’re interested to learn more about how you can help these poor animals, visit:

www.dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk today. 

You can also email as at: enquiries@dogwelfarenetwork.co.uk