Friends of Animals Wales
Annual Report And Statement Of Accounts For Year End 31[st] July 2020
Charity Registration No 1182414
Trustee’s Report
For the Year ending 31[st] July 2020
Summary of Activities
Friends of Animals Wales is a volunteer run animal rescue very much based and working in the community. As a home based organisation all animals are cared for in foster homes with occasional use of boarding kennels facilities for emergencies.
Rescue and Rehoming
Our main intake are dogs, many coming from puppy farms and breeders. Mostly ex breeding stock that are no longer required but we also take a number of sick or unsaleable puppies. We have considerable expertise in the rehabilitation and rehoming of these dogs. We take cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and any other domestic animals or wildlife in an emergency and where we are able to offer assistance. We take in hand-ins from the public where owners are no longer able to keep their pets due to illness, death, loss of home, change of circumstances or a variety of other issues. All animals that come in to our care receive veterinary care and whatever treatment needed. We neuter all dogs, cats and rabbits that have attained a suitable age and those who cannot be neutered due to being under an appropriate age are rehomed on a neutering contract. Elderly animals or those with chronic health conditions are neutered where our vets are happy to do so. Whilst most of our rescued animals are found suitable homes and are
adopted some go on assisted adoptions if they have health conditions that would make them more difficult to rehome due to costs of veterinary care. In these cases the rescues commits to covering the cost of any pre existing health conditions. In a very few cases animals go to long term foster homes with the rescue retaining ownership and responsibility for their life. We have a non-destruct policy but will always follow veterinary advice if euthanasia is advised after exploring all options, including referrals for second opinions to Veterinary specialist hospitals.
Community Work
As part of supporting pet owners in the community we run an online Lost and Found service helping to reunite lost pets with owners and assisting with searches for those missing. Our 24 Hour Helpline is also a available to assist owners find their missing pets.
Food Bank Support
We work with a number of food banks and community groups providing them with surplus food they can supply to their clients. We discovered that pet owners who were experiencing difficulties were often going without food to feed their pets and so we now help by supplying food for them to use.
Respite Care
We work with a number of agencies including Social Services, Police, Mental Health Teams, Refuges, and hospitals providing emergency accommodation for the pets of owners in crisis. This free service is much in demand but we can only take those animals that we are able to accommodate in foster homes that have availability. Placements may be just for a couple of days or on occasions some months.
COVID and Its Effects
Our three charity shops closed in April 2020 which had a significant effect of our income. At the same time we had cancelled all our events and usual fundraising fixtures such as Meet & Greets, Auctions and Street Collections. Fortunately with grant funding and the support of our wonderful followers we were able to meet all our commitments.
The rescue stayed open and continued to operate throughout the lockdown and there was a huge demand for help. Not only taking in animals of people who were sick or sadly died but also helping those who were isolating with vets visits for their pets. We also delivered pet food to those who were unable to shop and there was a big increase in demand for pet food from our usual contacts and also many new ones. Many of our Volunteers were in vulnerable categories that needed to isolate and this did put considerable pressure on those who were still
available to help but the response from out team was magnificent and we were able to respond to all almost all requests for help.
Sadly the condition of many of the animals that came in was very poor. We were called out to one property where all three residents had Covid and had been hospitalised by a family member to discover large numbers of dogs living in appalling condition in cages. We were able to take 15 and the one surviving owner signed them over to us. They required many thousands of pounds of veterinary care and specialist treatment. This was the case with a large number of the other dogs, cats and smaller pets that came in but with huge efforts by our fundraising team working on line and support from followers we were able to provide all the veterinary treatment and additional care needed.
In addition many of the companies that support us with food and supplies increased the amount of their donated goods and this has been a huge help in allowing us to continue feeding the animals with good quality food and also keep up our commitment to the Food Banks we work with.
Trustee Responsibilities
The Trustees are responsible for all aspects of our organisation but also take individual responsibility for overseeing some areas of our work.
Ms E Jones Rescue Coordinator Mrs J Hawkins Finance and Retail Mrs P Marchant General Administration Ms C Williams Fostering Support, Grooming and Food Banks
Signed on behalf of the Trustees
Eileen Jones Date 18-12-2021