Introducing Paddy
Paddy was found in the street in Limerick, Ireland. He had collapsed and was very thin and dirty as if he had been kept in a coal shed or similar. Paddy had an abscess on his foot and the end of his tail was injured.It is not uncommon for dogs to be allowed to roam the streets, experience cruelty of various levels and for the majority not to be spayed or neutered.
Despite this poor treatment, abandonment, neglect or cruelty, Irish Labradors tend to have a lovely nature and make wonderful pets if given the time to readjust.
In this part of Ireland the pounds operate a non re-homing policy which came about when a dog re-homed from a pound attacked a child. Some of the pounds however, agreed that they would allow rescues to go in and monitor the dogs and attempt to re-home any which were identified as suitable. When these dogs are identified, the rescues liaise with mainland rescues such as Labrador Rescue to bring them to England to be re-homed.
Paddy was one of these dogs. He initially spent time held in a pound in Ireland. These pounds are often overcrowded resulting in lots of dogs being held together in cages. These cramped and overcrowded conditions often results in fights between the dogs which results in injury to the weaker animal.
Labrador Rescue works with Limerick Animal Rescue and a couple of other sources to bring Labradors over from Ireland at a cost of £75 each.
Paddy arrived at the rescue in a poor state as you can see from the picture at the top of the page. He was bathed and checked by a vet who explained that if the injury to his tail did not heal part of his tail would have to be amputated. After a while, Paddy was re-homed but unfortunately this did not work out and he returned to the rescue for a second time.
An urgent appeal was made for a home for Paddy which was seen by Jan, his new Mum.
Jan’s story follows:
"In May this year my much loved Labrador Bonnie died suddenly aged 11 ( she's on rainbow bridge). Because of the heartache it caused I wasn't going to get another, but after a month my life felt pretty empty, so I decided I would try and find a lab that needed a good home.
I found Lab Rescue and as I looked through the dogs to re-home there was Paddy, with an urgent appeal for someone to take him as he was being returned to the rescue for a second time. It felt like fate, so anyway to cut a long story short we went to pick him up on the Friday and took him home to Northumberland.
It turned out that he had been found in the street in Limerick, Ireland, collapsed and very thin, dirty as if he had been kept in a coal shed or similar. He had an abscess on his foot and the end of his tail was injured, the vet said he may have to have his tail amputated if it didn’t heal, but we persevered with it for two months and it is now totally healed. #
He's had one or two little niggling ailments since but is now very healthy. He has lots of phobias which we think are connected to his life in Ireland such as a fear of fluorescent yellow jackets, but these are gradually improving. He is the most loving dog I have ever known despite the treatment he must have suffered. We've had him just 5 months now but it feels like he has been here forever. I'm so proud of him".
Thanks to Jan, Paddy is now in a loving home where he has gone from strength to strength. He is now a stunning example of a yellow Labrador..
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Labrador Rescue hopes to bring more Labradors from Ireland in the New Year where they will be found loving homes and given the opportunity to experience the love and care that Paddy has received. Not everyone supports the rehoming of Irish Labradors and, to respect individual views and opinions, the Rescue has set up Jacobs Fund. Any money donated to Jacobs Fund is used to rescue Irish Labradors like Paddy. If you would like to make a donation to Jacobs Fund [Click Here]