Bosses at Glasgow-based dog charity 'extremely worried' for future

Kerryanne Shaw, chairperson of All Bullie Charity Rescue, says the organisation which operates across the UK is suffering as a result of the cost-of-living crisis.

Founded in 2016, the foundation aims to help all bull breeds that don't normally have a chance with other rescue centres, either because they are full or the dogs have behavioural issues and will take longer to rehome.

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Kerryanne, who lives in Drumchapel, explained: "We deal with all kinds of bull breeds, Staffies, bulldogs, XL bullies, American bulldogs and we do sometimes take other large breeds as well.

"We do tend to take a lot of dogs that are at risk of being put to sleep or at risk in some other way.

"We are passionate about rescuing bull breeds because they are very misunderstood and receive bad press and we aim to show people that they make great pets in the right homes with the right owners."

She added: "We would like to see a complete ban on breeding as rescues and pounds are predominantly full of bull breeds and many die daily due to a lack of resources for rescues to be able to save them."

The charity has three kennels located in Forfar, Rotherham and Devon, while dogs are also fostered at appropriate homes. 

Up until lockdown, the charity was predominantly foster-based but the number of people taking in dogs has reduced, while donations have also dried up due to the cost-of-living crisis. 

Kerryanne, 37, said: "Ideally we do want to see the dogs in homes, we don’t want to have loads of dogs in kennels but unfortunately since the lockdowns and everybody going out and getting lockdown puppies, we have seen a staggering amount of large breed dogs that do have behavioural issues that really need to be assessed in kennels and worked with in kennels before they can go to a home.

"But also since lockdown and the cost-of-living crisis, donations have dried up and the homes have dried up, no one’s really wanting to adopt a dog at the moment so we now do have a large number of dogs that are in kennels and it’s costing us a lot of money each month."

There are currently around 30 dogs in the charity's kennels while another 10 are in foster care, with the organisation paying for their food and vet bills. 

Kerryanne, who fosters dogs at her own home, says the charity's main outgoing at the moment is kennel bills and large vet bills, including for one dog who has epilepsy with the monthly cost for vet visits setting them back £500. 

She says as a result of the costs and a reduction in donations, she is "extremely worried" about the charity's future. 

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She said: "I think everyone in rescue at the moment is feeling the same, we’re just running ourselves into the ground at the moment trying to keep our heads above water.

"We’re all extremely drained and we’re all extremely worried about the future of the charity right now because if we can’t get on top of the bills and we can’t rehome the dogs then I don’t see a future for the charity if we can’t sustain the cost we’re receiving."

She added: "If we did have to close, then we would ask other rescues to help with some of the dogs, but unfortunately there are some dogs that we can’t see any rescues being able to offer a lifeline to so that leaves those dogs at risk."

A GoFundMe has now been launched by the charity with a goal of raising £10,000.

So far, £60 has been donated. 

You can find out more about All Bullie Charity Rescue at allbulliecharityrescue.org or view the GoFundMe HERE.