'They don’t deserve to be treated like that': The rescue centre saving sick and neglected animals
At One Linehan With Dan Early Lovely My Picture: Morning Feeding Cuskinny, Of Of The Cork Horse Horses Kelly Mellerick The Rescue Rescued At
Eyes stretched white with fear and trembling, Bowie the lurcher lay unable to move in a ditch with multiple broken bones, as cars and trucks thundered by just feet away.
Martina Kenny of My Lovely Horse animal rescue rushed to the scene after the shelter was called about the injured and terrified dog.
“He was in a bad place. He could have been left there to die.
“We had to put a muzzle on him in case he bit us and it took two of us to carry him very gently from the ditch to the van.
“He was on the vets for two weeks.
“But all the pins have come out now and he’s doing wonderfully, his fosterer wants to adopt him.”
Likewise, Edie, a little lurcher bitch, was also found emaciated with a broken leg on the streets of Dublin.
“She was skin and bone. She’d been through hell and back.
“She was covered in fleas so people wouldn’t touch her. She was in such pain and she was so skinny. We couldn’t leave her on the streets. They’re innocent babies and they don’t deserve to be treated like that and there are so many more out there like them. It’s nice to save the ones who’ve had no love in their lives before.”
Lurchers, which are “used and abused for hunting” are commonly found injured, she said.
But both dogs are recovering well and have found homes, but the vet bills came to more than €6,000.
“They’ve cost us an absolute fortune but every penny was worth it,” Ms Kenny said.
"They are absolute dotes. All they wanted was a bit of help. Even after Edie had a serious operation, she still had a happy little head on her. When animals need help they know it.”
The shelter has more than 700 animals in its care — dogs, horses, goats, pigs, cats. It has three premises — the My Lovely Horse and My Lovely Pig rescue centres in Kildare and a My Lovely Horse facility in Cobh, Co Cork.
But the numbers are always mounting and Ms Kenny said another litter of puppies and kittens would probably be admitted before the end of the day.
“You might foster out two animals but another five will come in that day, so the number never drops below 700 anymore,” she said.
Now Christmas and harsh winter weather are coming, shelters will be under even more pressure.
“Horses will be left tied to posts and poles.”
And Ms Kenny is already seeing record numbers of animals, particularly dogs, coming to the shelter.
“We’ve had 10 messages before lunchtime today from people looking to surrender their dogs.”
The housing crisis is now exerting pressure on the shelter.
“Many landlords will not take dogs. So when someone moves house, they’re told they cannot take their dog with them,” Ms Kenny said.
“And restricted breeds are not allowed in council-owned properties.
“One woman contacted us today who has two Staffies [Staffordshire Bull Terriers, a restricted breed] and four puppies.
“But she can’t take them to her new home.
“But the shelters are full, the pounds are full.”
The pandemic rush to get pets is also having an impact.
“Some of this started in covid. You’re still seeing that backlash. A lot of dogs coming in are two to three years old. A lot of people got pets during covid but they don’t want them anymore.
“But people will have to make time to walk them, take the time to train them, because there’s nowhere for them to go.
“Our shelter in Cork is now just a field for horses. We had a yard there but it sold so we’re looking for a new yard to rent.
My Lovely Horse is also appealing for people to foster horses and ponies throughout the winter.
“The awful weather is coming. That’s when horses will really suffer. They fall into freezing rivers trying to get a drink, they’re in waterlogged fields.
“We take a lot of little cobs. Many of them are very young, one to two years old. We have some older ponies in training but many of them are small and will just be companions rather than for riding.
“We have about 300 ponies and horses.
“All they need to be fostered is some land and a bit of shelter. We’ll look after any vet bills. And if someone has transport then that is brilliant."
Donations are critical so the charity can pay its vet bills and cope with inflation. It currently faces one vet bill alone which is €60,000.
“And our hay bill is big. A bale of hay is €30 and we’re buying 25 a week.
“We’re an animal rescue and we do what it says on the tin, we rescue the animals that need help.
“We’re out all hours of the night on rescues. We have volunteers and paid staff, who also volunteer in their free time, and we can be out all night. You have to have complete dedication.”
Ms Kenny, her sister Deborah Kenny, and their friend, acclaimed singer-songwriter Cathy Davy, founded the charity.
Two ponies, Ranger and Blossom, nudged them on their journey to open what was initially an equine rescue in response to the need they saw on the ground.
“Friends had seen these two horses tied up in a park. One of them nearly got strangled on its rope.
“It was 12 years ago. We never meant to start an animal shelter. We just rescued two horses and now we’re Ireland’s biggest animal horse rescue and Ireland’s only pig rescue.”
They called the shelter My Lovely Horse after the song Cathy’s partner, Neil Hannon of the Divine Comedy, co-wrote for the famous comedy series.
Ranger and Blossom, the two little cobs that sparked the project, are still happily homed 12 years later.
“Dublin has such a horse problem that people just heard about it,” she said.
But Ms Kenny has seen things improve in animal welfare over those 12 years.
Both Dublin City Council and Kilkenny County Council have pushed for improvements in animal welfare and the changes have been palpable, she said.
“I’m really proud of Dublin City Council. It’s hired its own animal welfare officers now, every council should have them.
But more could still be done, she said. And embracing ideas like horse projects, where people could keep their ponies for a nominal fee, learn to care for them, learn about horsemanship, would be positive.
“You’re never going to clear horses out of urban areas completely and some people in urban areas really love their horses. So it’s sad to take them away from people. Projects could be in place to better support them instead.”
Sulky racing again hit the headlines in recent weeks, with video footage of young horses harnessed to sulky traps racing along motorways alongside cars and trucks.
Young horses can be permanently maimed by racing on motorways and other hard roads when their limbs are still developing, Ms Kenny said.
“We’ve taken a few former sulkies from the pound and we’ll be taking more before Christmas.
“It is wrong that these young horses are being raced on the hard roads.
"It’s really sad. She’s a beautiful horse but she’ll never be ridden because of her legs. And she needs specialist shoes so she’ll probably be here for the rest of her life.
“But there’s huge money it. People bet on the races. And they’re not going to stop doing it.
“If there were purpose-built sulky racing tracks at least it would be safer.”
Running an animal shelter is not easy, she said.
“You have to have a lot of people behind you. It’s a scary journey running a rescue. Some people do not want you taking a horse off them.
“We’ve had a lot of support. The gardaí have been brilliant.
“And the public are amazing to us. Without the public, we would be so lost.”
Donations to My Lovely Horse can be made here.