Spotlight ✨ Sunday ✨ // Lending a Hand at Limerick Animal Welfare Sanctuary

When my mam and I first decided to make the journey to Limerick Animal Welfare (LAW) in Kilfinane, Co. Limerick, my mam sat in the passenger seat and called out directions like those guys in motor rally racing. But there was really no need; the road to the animal sanctuary is actually really easy to find and you cannot miss it - the entire sanctuary spreads across 25 acres of land across Kilfinane. 

As I chatted to Marie, one of the 12 full time staff at LAW, she told me that they have a strict no-kill policy; so if an animal comes to them without any severe medical conditions they will no be euthanized. This is just one of the reasons why I love LAW; too quick are some places to decide that they have to end a dogs life. I truly believe that there is a human out there for every dog - some just take longer to find than others. The adoption board in reception is a testament to this.

It only took about .1223645 seconds before I fell in love with every animal at LAW. Big dogs, little dogs, puppies, cats and kittens and even the odd stray goat or pony can be found here. And at first I was wary, especially of the dogs, but I can say I've been in every single kennel and every dog has shown such love and excitement to see me come in. 

The sanctuary is not just for those wanting to adopt. It's also a place to go to help your community in a fun way; you can walk some of the dogs across the 25 acres and it's such a treat; the landscape is verification of how beautiful the Irish countryside is.

The road to LAW

And if you really want to earn your cup of tea, cleaning the kennels starts at 9am and involves poop scooping, mopping, feeding, refilling water bowls and cleaning beds. The kennels are cleaned every morning to ensure the utmost hygienic conditions for these animals.

The kennels at LAW

If you have an animal you will know then it's expensive but when Marie revealed it costs €60,000 a month to keep LAW up and running my mouth fell open. The two Limerick Animal Welfare Charity shops in Limerick help fund some of these costs and the Dept. of Agriculture gives a grant (but this is minuscule to funds they actually need) but most comes from donations from the public. It the bake sales and the fundraisers and collections that keep LAW's doors open; it's what keeps those animals safe. 

The story of Bunty 

The €60,000 mentioned doesn't cover the cost of surgeries that some of these animals need in order to improve their health and quality of life. Bunty, a beautiful female Lurcher in LAW recently underwent surgery for a ruptures cruciate ligament and while the surgery was a success and Bunty is slowly recovering, the cost of the surgery came to €2000. And look, I know there's always something that needs donations - there will always be someone in need but the saying every little helps (Thanks Tesco for that line!) is so true. 

So if you can spare anything I'll leave the link here

Some of  the beautiful animals at LAW:

Penney's (Jack Russel) puppies

Yvonne (or Vamps as I call her - because of her smile)

Jeremy is a lovely German Shepard mix

Mattie - the current owner of my heart

Dorothy - a recovery Lurcher

There isn't just dogs at LAW but plenty of Cats, housed in the Cattery

Not just Cats, but Kittens too

LAW don't just need donations but are also looking for volunteers. Signing up takes about 10 minutes and starts from 9am. To show some courtesy, make sure to give them a call on 063-91110 before arriving. And if  you want to learn more about the Sanctuary, they run a very active Facebook where they can answer any questions you may have -> Limerick Animal Welfare 

I just want to say a huge thank you to all the staff at LAW for not just allowing me to run around with my camera but for all the work they do. It just shows that not all heroes wear capes!

Like this post? Make sure to follow me on my other socials for more shits and giggles!

ohhheyitsaimee

ohhheyitsaimee

Until next time...

Aimee♥