The Briarfield Animal Sanctuary * Irish dogs for adoption

This is the Bradfield Animal Sanctuary story: run by Edward and Patricia, and with the help of a few volunteers. In April 1999 a dog was discovered in distress wandering in the Fenchpark area of County Roscommon, Ireland.

Although so thin that all her ribs showed, and much of her fur was missing, it was obvious that she had been a beautiful dog. A rust coloured German pointer, she was possibly pregnant at the time. We named her Sacha and took her into our home. That night she bore 5 gorgeous little pups at the bottom of our bed. We decided to try to find homes for her pups but to keep her.

The pups were rehomed and Sacha gradually got back to good health and is now a fine looking grand old lady, aged 14 and very much part of the family. Subsequently my wife Patricia and I agreed we would foster other dogs if required. It was not long before more came along in ones and twos until we were looking after more than a dozen.

At that time we were living in a one bedroomed house and though some of the dogs were fit enough to be kept in kennels outside, many of the weaker ones and those needing extra care were living with us in the house. Thanks to the local farmer we were able to walk them every day on fields opposite the house but it was already becoming apparent that we would soon need larger premises and more space.

As a result we moved to our present location in Lisacul where we have 7 acres and are aiming to take in an average of 25 dogs, though we presently have over 50 ! Since Sacha came we have rehomed well over 800 dogs which would otherwise have died, been dumped or put down. Many of them are the most beautiful creatures and it is hard to imagine anyone abandoning them.

We have a “no kill” policy and only animals suffering from severe incurable illnesses are put down. We still have a “hard core” of residents which have been with us for over 2 years and in which people do not show much interest. Most of these are collie or collie cross since there are more of this breed than any other in this county. Obviously the really attractive dogs and puppies don’t stay with us long and the same with the occasional pedigree dog which comes our way.

We strongly advocate spaying/neutering. There are already far too many unwanted dogs out there.

All work is carried out by volunteers and no profit is made although we do receive support from the Dogs Trust in the UK towards the cost of spaying and neutering. We are constantly continuing our efforts to improve facilities here. Most of this work is carried out on a shoestring using recycled timber & pallets.

The house we had intended to renovate and live in ourselves has also been given over to the dogs, where we have about 15 dogs in residence at the moment. It has become apparent that we can never keep up with the amount of dogs which need to be rescued and slowly we are coming to terms with the enormous amount of casual neglect, ignorance, irresponsibility and in some cases sheer cruelty which takes place in this rural area where dogs are seen as a more or less disposable commodity.

Last year official figures show that over 17,500 unwanted otherwise healthy dogs were put down in local pounds. However we are gradually making an impact, and as our records show, many of the people we have homed dogs to would not part with them for the world, enabling us to believe that the work we are doing is truly worthwhile.

At present my wife and I work full time and unpaid, 365 days per year. We have one or two faithful volunteers who come in two or three days a week part time to help when they can. We are always on call and available to rescue animals, feed them, rehome them, keep records, attend the vets and offer as much tender loving care to each animal as time permits. In some ways we are the victims of our own success : the more well known we become, the greater the demand to take in dogs.

It is very very hard to refuse to take in an animal however full we may be. Since we began we have seen so many sad cases . Puppies, thrown out of cars because their owners just “dont want them” anymore, beautiful creatures with lovely loyal spirits who show by the look in their eyes that they just cannot understand why they have been so cruelly abandoned by callous owners.

This is not a “business” but a labour of love because we believe the animals we rescue have a God given right to life and we have a duty as caring human beings to help provide that for them to the best of our ability.


	This is the Bradfield Animal Sanctuary story: run by Edward and Patricia, and with the help of a few volunteers. In April 1999 a dog was discovered in distress wandering in the Fenchpark area of County Roscommon, Ireland. Although so thin that all her ribs showed, and much of her fur was missing, it was obvious that she had been a beautiful dog. A rust coloured German pointer, she was possibly pregnant at the time. We named her Sacha and took her into our home. That night she bore 5 gorgeous little pups at the bottom of our bed. We decided to try to find homes for her pups but to keep her. The pups were rehomed and Sacha gradually got back to good health and is now a fine looking grand old lady, aged 14 and very much part of the family. Subsequently my wife Patricia and I agreed we would foster other dogs if required. It was not long before more came along in ones and twos until we were looking after more than a dozen. At that time we were living in a one bedroomed house and though some of the dogs were fit enough to be kept in kennels outside, many of the weaker ones and those needing extra care were living with us in the house. Thanks to the local farmer we were able to walk them every day on fields opposite the house but it was already becoming apparent that we would soon need larger premises and more space. As a result we moved to our present location in Lisacul where we have 7 acres and are aiming to take in an average of 25 dogs, though we presently have over 50 ! Since Sacha came we have rehomed well over 800 dogs which would otherwise have died, been dumped or put down. Many of them are the most beautiful creatures and it is hard to imagine anyone abandoning them. We have a “no kill” policy and only animals suffering from severe incurable illnesses are put down. We still have a “hard core” of residents which have been with us for over 2 years and in which people do not show much interest. Most of these are collie or collie cross since there are more of this breed than any other in this county. Obviously the really attractive dogs and puppies don’t stay with us long and the same with the occasional pedigree dog which comes our way. We strongly advocate spaying/neutering. There are already far too many unwanted dogs out there. All work is carried out by volunteers and no profit is made although we do receive support from the Dogs Trust in the UK towards the cost of spaying and neutering. We are constantly continuing our efforts to improve facilities here. Most of this work is carried out on a shoestring using recycled timber & pallets. The house we had intended to renovate and live in ourselves has also been given over to the dogs, where we have about 15 dogs in residence at the moment. It has become apparent that we can never keep up with the amount of dogs which need to be rescued and slowly we are coming to terms with the enormous amount of casual neglect, ignorance, irresponsibility and in some cases sheer cruelty which takes place in this rural area where dogs are seen as a more or less disposable commodity. Last year official figures show that over 17,500 unwanted otherwise healthy dogs were put down in local pounds. However we are gradually making an impact, and as our records show, many of the people we have homed dogs to would not part with them for the world, enabling us to believe that the work we are doing is truly worthwhile. At present my wife and I work full time and unpaid, 365 days per year. We have one or two faithful volunteers who come in two or three days a week part time to help when they can. We are always on call and available to rescue animals, feed them, rehome them, keep records, attend the vets and offer as much tender loving care to each animal as time permits. In some ways we are the victims of our own success : the more well known we become, the greater the demand to take in dogs. It is very very hard to refuse to take in an animal however full we may be. Since we began we have seen so many sad cases . Puppies, thrown out of cars because their owners just “dont want them” anymore, beautiful creatures with lovely loyal spirits who show by the look in their eyes that they just cannot understand why they have been so cruelly abandoned by callous owners. This is not a “business” but a labour of love because we believe the animals we rescue have a God given right to life and we have a duty as caring human beings to help provide that for them to the best of our ability.










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