The Maggie Fleming Animal Hospice
Trustees’ Annual Report 1st April 24 - 31st March 25
SCO46918 AWE Licence Number 072867
The Maggie Fleming Animal Hospice
The Maggie Fleming Animal Hospice Trustees’ Annual Report 1st April 2024 - 31st March 2025
01 Charity Information
02 Structure, Governance and Management
03 Our Objectives
07 Our Dedicated Volunteers
04 05 06 The ‘Weans’: Achievements Problems Who We’ve We’ve Faced Helped - ; eg . : E : 7 rt 1 i “a =f wae ‘a. ‘ 1. . = i - 08 09 10 Our Our Our Future Wonderful Financial Plans Community Review
01 Charity Information
About Us
The Maggie Fleming Animal Hospice Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation SCO46918 Animal Welfare Establishment Licence Number 072867 Issued by Dumfries and Galloway Council Ringliggate, Kirkcudbright, Galloway, DG6 4RB 07423 559921 alexis@themaggiefleminganimalhospice.org.uk www.facebook.com/themaggiefleminganimalhospice www.instagram.com/themaggiefleminganimalhospice Trustees:
Alexis Fleming (Chair) Archie Fleming (Treasurer and Secretary) Flora Fleming Linda Forbes Independent Examiner: David Gow
There’s another way, in life and in death
02
Structure, Governance and Management
Governance
Governing Document
The Maggie Fleming Animal Hospice was established as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation in October 2016. Its charitable activities are regulated by the Office for the Scottish Charity Regulator, governed by a Constitution and overseen by a board of trustees.
Method of Appointment of Trustees
The current trustees have many years of experience in animal welfare, advocacy and charitable activities, from hands on animal care to fundraising and management. tps
All future trustees will be nominated and selected by current trustees at convened meetings. Future trustee selection will take into account relevant knowledge and skills in the animal welfare, rescue and charitable sectors cis along with relevant skills and character to ensure robust management of the charity and furtherance of the charitable aims and objectives. : | 7, ‘ r : ,
Policies, Procedures and Record Keeping
We have a robust range of operational policies and procedures in place, fe, covering animal welfare best practices, daily care routines, cleaning, health & a? a = and safety, emergency protocols, euthanasia, volunteer guidance, transparency, and more.
We also keep detailed records of animal care, vet treatment and volunteer i> re
training. These are submitted to the local authority as part of our licencing oa. alee “" = so oe and are available to our supporters and to the public on request.
03 Our Objectives
Our Objectives
As detailed in our governing constitution, our purpose is to advance animal welfare by operating a dedicated animal hospice and sanctuary that;
provides lifelong sanctuary care to farmed animals and companion animals, and end-of-life care to abandoned and terminally ill animals, ensuring their physical and emotional needs are met through compassionate, tailored, and appropriate personal and veterinary support;
prevents or alleviates suffering in terminally ill animals by delivering palliative care that meets their physical and emotional needs during the final stages of life;
responds to evolving needs in animal rescue and welfare, recognising the changing societal landscape and increasing complexity of cases, including the provision of long-term sanctuary care for dogs who are unsuitable for rehoming due to behavioural, medical, or environmental needs, and who require specialist housing, care, and understanding;
promotes education and public awareness by serving as a centre of information and innovation in the care of farmed animals, the welfare of animals requiring end-oflife support, and the shifting public perception of animal rescue and sanctuary work.
’Whit We Dae’
The Maggie Fleming Animal Hospice is a wee independent charity, run entirely by volunteers and funded by the kindness and generosity of our lovely community of supporters.
We provide lifelong sanctuary care and tailored palliative and end of life care to unwanted, neglected and abandoned dogs, cats, pigs, sheep, hens, geese, quail, and one of the biggest free-ranging bachelor flocks of cockerels in the world.
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Lifelong,
A warm,
palliative and
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fulfilling Love,
home kindness,
compassion
and
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countryside . f f F
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Bambi and Twinks, daughter and mammy, who suffered years of abuse and faced a cold, lonely death in Romania until they came to live at the Hospice and finally knew what it felt like to be loved.
04
Who We’ve Helped
The ‘Weans’
Our residents - the ‘weans’ - come into our care from many situations. Some - many - have been abandoned, neglected and/or abused and have never known love. Some have been loved but their person has become ill or died.
Some are simply ‘unwanted’ - this is true for most of the cockerel lads, who are the least wanted of all. But all of that is left at the gate; here, they finally know love, kindness, respect, freedom, dignity, happiness... a life worth living. The Maggie Fleming Animal Hospice is currently home to:
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28 dogs 19 hens
27 sheep
2 quail
9 pigs oe 2 geese
4 cats 178 cockerels
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We have strict maximum numbers and a robust intake policy to ensure we can give the best care to all of our residents. With heavy hearts, we say ‘no’ a ( ORz code= Pg lot more than we say ‘yes’. Throughout the year we were deliberately below j - __ capacity for cats, hens, dogs and turkeys, due to financial constraints and a4 eet other challenges.
A good life, and a good death... “it’s whit we dae”
Some of the Weans’ Stories
Everyone who comes to live here has a story to tell. Here are just a few of the weans’ stories from the last year:
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Betty
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Betty was abandoned while she was giving birth. She was terrified and very sick. Her puppies were dying, and she and they needed urgent medical care, but Betty was too scared to let anyone near her. We were their only hope. We had just hours to gain her trust and save her and her babies’ lives. Spoiler: here’s Betty now! Two of her babies - May Blossom and Dandy Lion - survived and both live here with their Mammy Betty.
Beautiful Meg came to live with us after spending her whole life - more than 10 years - on a heavy metal chain with no shelter and no love. She blossomed here and spent her days playing with her friend Roxy and with her toys, especially her favourite plastic bowl. Meg had the most beautiful, forgiving heart. Meg developed cancer in mid 2024. We nursed her through her final months, and helped our darling girl leave her old body with peace, love and dignity, and friends by her side.
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Meg
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Piglet and Chucky
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Piglet and Chucky came to live with us along with their friends Lola and Mini after their person died. There was no where else they could go where they would be able to stay together, so they joined us here. They loved their comforts (and their grub!) and spent two very happy years here. Piglet and Chucky both became unwell in late 2024 and we said very sudden but peaceful goodbyes to both auld men, as they left their auld bodies behind.
Twinks
Twinks and her daughter Bambi endured a miserable life of cruelty in Romania. Bambi was 12 years old, and her mum Twinkle was almost 20. Dumped on the freezing street in the middle of winter, they were facing a cold death in a shelter believing the whole world was made of monsters. With no other options for two old, sick dogs, we were asked if we could offer them a lifeline of love, hope and warmth. We planned that Twinks would celebrate her 21st birthday in February with 21 birthdays, to make up for all the birthdays she missed. She had picnics on the beach, presents, and everything an auld lady could hope for. Twinks left peacefully aged 21 and 3 weeks in March 2025, on her ‘16th’ birthday.
At just a few months old, English Mastiff lad George found himself abandoned, traumatised and alone in the pound. He had just hours before he would be killed when we were asked if we could take him. We had just finished building three new bedrooms, so we were delighted that on this rare occasion we could say ‘yes’. George has behaviour issues with other dogs which mean he requires life-long sanctuary, but he adores humans. He is big, silly, lazy, lovely lad who loves his food and his bed!
George
Dear Auld Scrappy came to live with us after spending almost a year in police kennels as a cruelty case was pursued. Scrappy had been living in the woods with his person for quite a long time. He was almost 16 when he arrived, and he has some health issues which we help him cope with using holistic and allopathic vet care. He’s a sweet, suave, kissy gentleman and he loves to spend his his days sleeping in front of the radiator mumbling about ‘young pups these days’.
Scrappy
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Sweet Pea
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Sweet Pea and her best pal Del Boy (now Neep) arrived after their person was made homeless. They joined oor ‘Wee Pigs’ and live a quiet life up on the hill, snoozing the days away in their straw or in the sun. Sweet Pea lives up to her name; she is a very sweet auld lady! Here she is enjoying her 12th birthday celebration with a platter of her favourite fruits and veggies!
Jilly and Davey were the ‘Lamb Weans of 2024’. Davey was found abandoned in a field with joint ill, a painful joint infection which is fatal if not treated. He was very sick, but we nursed him through his infection and he survived, thank goodness. Jilly’s mum Lynn had become blind and she was going to be shot, but a supporter asked if she could come here instead. We didn’t know she was pregnant until this little bundle of sassiness arrived a few weeks later!
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Jilly and Davey
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i =
The Bachelors
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Cockerel lads... lots and lots of cockerel lads! Readers appreciate As one of the only sanctuaries in the UK thataccurate information can accommodate such large numbers of cockerels, we are the ‘go to’ for unwanted and abandoned cockerels. The lads live in two bachelor villages on 4 acres of predatorproof land, and spend their days dustbathing, scratching around, telling the world how cock-a-doodin gorgeous they are, or just ‘hinging oot’. We have an intensive care hospital unit and an expert bird vet on hand to make sure they are in good health.
05
Achievements
What we’ve done this year
Fundraising
We are very fortunate to have a wonderful local and online community who support us in our fundraising. We have worked hard to ensure that donations, particularly regular donations, have increased this year, which is promising in this economic climate.
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Barney
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We are delighted to have Shona join us in January to help with our fundraising. You can read more about Shona’s fantastic work in ‘Our Dedicated Volunteers’.
Animal Welfare Establishment Licence
In May we were awarded a three year Animal Welfare Establishment licence, one of the first to be granted in Dumfries and Galloway. The licence report noted that the charity has ‘extremely high animal welfare practices’. We are delighted at this recognition of our work.
Infrastructure
Much of the year has been dedicated to improving the infrastructure and amenities of the Hospice and Sanctuary to make life better for the residents and to help us to give them the best care, to make the land easier to manage and navigate, mitigating the risk of flooding, and to improving safety and security.
Fire Safety
Sunset Gs
We replaced all of the existing fire extinguishers with P50 no-maintenance models, installed new interconnected heat alarms, and updated our fire evacuation procedure to take account of new infrastructure. &
Creating ‘Mastin Mountain’
BuggerLugs and Barney, our Spanish Mastin lads, are Livestock Guardian Dogs who were bred to be on top of a mountain, watching their flock. Both needed a sanctuary home where they could fulfil their deep-seated guarding needs safely and in peace. So we built them their own cabin, exercise area and ‘mountains’!
Interconnected Garden and Play Areas for the Dogs
By installing a few new fences and gates, and creating more play and exercise areas, more dogs can be out at the same time in different areas, meaning more fun and exercise time for everyone. They all have access to different play and sensory areas... their new ‘Tyre Village’ has been a great hit, especially with footballer Bruce!
‘Elisa Meadows’; Special Care Sheep Paddock
With the addition of some fencing and gates, the back r | J7 garden of the house became ‘Elisa Meadows’ - named after hy : c 4 our special girl Elisa - a paddock for sheep who need extra q care. Being close to the house, we can keep a close eye on ] older or poorly sheep. A new shed provides a safe, warm, dry shelter for convalescing.
Isolation areas for intensive/long-term care cockerels
A grant from the Kirkcudbright Development Trust helped us to install some new isolation and intensive care areas for cockerels who are in long-term hospice care so they can eet |i still be outdoors in the fresh air while they are receiving : special care. a td
06
Problems We’ve Faced
Problems We’ve Faced
Things don’t always go to plan! We have faced a number of problems that our trustees and volunteers have worked to resolve. Here are a few, and how we resolved them. Flooding
We have faced issues with flooding outside of the hospice building following heavy or prolonged rain. This has worsened since we laid mud control measures around gates. We mitigated this by having a drainage pipe laid underground and the area recovered with drainage stones to allow water to soak away quickly. This has vastly improved drainage and greatly reduced the risk of flooding.
Security
Following a serious trespassing incident involving a firearm which threatened our safety and caused great distress, fear and alarm to onsite volunteers, security measures were increased. New fences and security gates were installed and existing perimeter fences heightened. A camera system was donated and installed free of charge which allows 24 hour monitoring and recording. New padlocks were installed on all existing and new gates.
Mud Control
In winter, mud was becoming a problem around gates with high animal and human foot traffic, especially in sheep paddocks. Landscaping work was carried out around existing field gates in these areas to provide a hard base and mitigate the risks to animals and volunteers caused by excess mud.
07 Our fyOur Dedicated Volunteers LE \ Dedicated “ Volunteers
The Maggie Fleming Animal Hospice is run entirely by volunteers, who carry out all of the animal care, maintenance, cleaning, admin, planning and fundraising needed to keep the animals well cared for and the charity running smoothly.
Alexis and Kerry aka Mammy and Auntie
We have two live-in on-site volunteers, Alexis and Kerry aka ‘Mammy’ and ‘Auntie’, who are the primary caregivers for the animals.
After volunteering part time for 4 years, Kerry left her life as she knew it behind and joined us as a full-time, live-in volunteer in July 2024.
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Kerry and
Mary Doll
ame
Alexis, Happy
Feet and Jilly
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Alexis and Kerry dedicate their lives to caring for the weans, and are on hand 24 hours a day making sure they have everything they need.
Dinner-ladies, nurses, chauffeurs, soothers, cleaners, friends til the end... day and night Alexis and Kerry are there for the weans for whatever they need, whenever they need it.
Blythe and Shona; Bringing in the Pennies Blythe ran our monthly on-line auction until Shona took - RRR Et over in January. Huge thanks to Blythe for her hard work and everything she did for the charity Shona has worked hard to expand and diversify our fundraising. Her online auctions, ‘Woofles’ and yard sales are increasingly well supported and cover the cost of the food for the birds. She also rallies the troops in voting rounds. Thank you Shona, we are lucky to have you! id =! i *
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Shona
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aay ‘aad il v. ; A i : ee Paul, Karen, Becca and Taylor; hoosekeeping
Throughout the week, Becca, Paul, Karen and Taylor help make sure all the cockerel, sheep, hen and dogs’ beds, food and water containers are clean and fresh, and help with other tasks as needed. We are very grateful for their help and the weans love seeing them!
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Paul, Dandy Lion Becca hard at
Taylor and Ami
and May Blossom work!
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Auntie Pamela and Big Arch; support Crew
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Pamela with
Betty’s weans
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‘Auntie Pamela’ helps with fundraising, and visits every few weeks to help with cockerel health checks. She dreams of one day having her own ‘overspill’ cockerel sanctuary!
As well as being a trustee and our treasurer, a Archie aka Big Arch is our resident handy-man G and ‘Gramps’ to the weans. He comes for three days every week to tackle a never-ending list of ag . maintenance, cleaning, re-stocking and other jobs Archie and Jock (aka ‘Dad Stuff’!).
The trustees are incredibly grateful for the dedication, time and love our volunteers give to the animals and to the charity. We couldn’t do it without them, and we hope seeing happy weans makes all their hard work worth it!
08 Our Our Wonderful Community Wonderful Community From all around the UK, to Australia, Canada, the US, South Africa, » : =" New Zealand, Germany, Italy, France, Brazil and more, we are part of an online community of kind souls - ‘Aunties and Uncles’ - who find joy in following the weans’ lives and adventures and help us with the emotional and financial cost of caring for the weans.
Visitors
We welcome visitors by arrangement for tours of the hospice and sanctuary, a chat and a cuppa, and the obligatory ‘Happy Feet Cuddle’. The weans had many lovely visitors throughout the year. Many brought gifts for them and we are very grateful.
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hristin
C e
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PP7 Xe N vieSoil } FisTee &®S | da a ésx ( o NVie " . The Happiest Wee Magical I’ve had a Happy Place On Earth d
I’ve had a Happy Feet Cuddle!
Local Community and Corporate Support
We are very lucky to have a lot of support from the people and businesses in our local community. From local community grants, food donations, corporate charity partnerships, support from other charities and community fundraising events, we have had some wonderful support of our work from our local community which has helped us provide vet care, healthy food and a safe and happy home for the animals in our care. We are very grateful.
Laggan
As Charity of the Month in June 2024, we received a donation of £850 from Laggan and their customers. We used this to help pay for the fencing work to upgrade the Sanctuary dogs’ play areas.
WCF Castle Douglas
We were Charity Partner of WCF Charity Douglas throughout 2024 and received many donations of food and dog treats from their customers. A donation of £250 from WCF helped towards making new garden areas for the ‘Hoose Dugs’.
Oaktree Animals’ Charity
A huge food donation worth around £80,000 from Oaktree Animals’ Charity and Applaws helped us beyond measure. We are so incredibly grateful for this donation which eased the financial pressures on the charity significantly.
Tesco Castle Douglas
As their Charity Partner, we receive regular donations of dog and cat food and treats from the very generous customers of Tesco Castle Douglas. This helps us enormously and greatly reduces our food bill, helping us make every penny go further.
09
Our Financial Review
Our
Financial Review
The following charts give details of the charitable income we raised during the accounting period 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2025 and how this charitable income was used to achieve our charitable aims and objectives.
Income 2024 - 2025
One-off Personal Donations Fundraising Income ~~@~~ Regular Personal Donations O Corporate Donations Gift Aid Grants
O Grants ~~©~~ Fundraising Income £500.00 £11,510.64 O Corporate Donations (0.4%) : (8.4%) ~~O~~ Gift Aid £6,200.00 £7,181.38 (4.5%) (5.3%)
Regular Personal ~~<~~ Donations J £58,084.28 (42.5%)
One-Off Personal Donations £53,060.14 (38.9%)
Outgoing 2024 - 2025
Admin and Day-to-Day Running Costs (eg Cleaning Supplies, Postage, Admin Supplies, Health and Safety, Volunteer Expenses, Portaloo Hire, Waste Management)
Animal Care (eg Vet Treatment, Medical Supplies, Food, Bedding, Holistic Vet Care, Supplements, Specialist Food)
Utilities (Phone and Internet, Electricity)
IT and Software (eg Website and Email, WeTransfer Subscription, Canva Subscription, Microsoft Subscription)
Fuel
Interest-Free Loan Repayment
Fundraising Costs (eg Printing and Raffle Prizes)
Infrastructure (eg Fencing, Landscaping, Groundskeeping, Repairs and Maintenance)
Misc (eg Fraud on account (reclaimed), Cash Withdrawals, Refunds)
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Misc
£1,784.86
Fundraising Costs
(1.1%) Admin and Day-to-Day
£3,234.95
Running Costs
(2.1%)
£10,031.24
Infrastructure (6.3%)
£49,931.79
(31.4%)
Animal Care
£64,305.61
(40.4%)
Loan
Repayment
£14,405.00
(9.0%)
Utilities
£9,890.95
Fuel
IT and Software
(6.2%)
£3,372.52 £2,255.03
(2.1%) (1.4%)
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Total Income and Outgoing 23-24 Vs 24-25
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£200,000
£159,211.95
£150,000
£136,536.44
£127,615.00
£110,855.00
£100,000
£50,000
£0
Income 23-24 Income 24-25 Outgoing 23-24 Outgoing 24-25
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Goods In Kind
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We are incredibly grateful to have received goods in kind to the value of around £100,000. This includes donations of food, dog coats, bedding, toys, treats, cat litter, accessories, beds, crates, and much more.
Corporate donations from Europa, Lily’s Kitchen, Nova, Axel’s Elixer, Benevo, Happy Dog, Allen and Page, Hills, Applaws, and many more, were a God-send during very hard times. Their support has helped so much and we are so grateful.
Statement on the Charity’s Policy on Reserves iy The Charity aims to hold six months operating budget in reserves to ensure we are always able to provide for the food, care and medical needs of the Y 4 animals in our care should difficult circumstances arise. Stores of animalfood are considered in terms of their monetary equivalent value. hn oe We ended the year with around two months’ operating budget in the bank rat at hand and six months of dog food and a year of cat food in storage. Essential, unforeseen security infrastructure work and multiple challenges throughout the year which limited our time for fundraising accounted for a considerable decrease in reserves from the previous accounting year.
F 1 It is the trustees’ aim to increase these reserves through fundraising efforts in the coming year. - ah"
Donated Facilities and Services
The Trustees acknowledge and are very grateful for the donation of the following facilities and services to the charity, which allow us to carry out our work and save tens of thousands of pounds of charitable funds.
Time
All care-giving, admin, fundraising and other services to the charity are provided by volunteers, who donate their time and energy with love.
Facilities
Use of the property at Ringliggate including the house, outbuildings, 4 ½ acres of land and payment of local taxes are provided rent-free in perpetuity by the charity’s founder for the pursuance of our charitable purposes.
Heating and hot water
All costs associated with the provision of oil for heating and providing hot water to the animals in the main house are donated by the founder. This equates to a saving to the charity of around £4000 per year.
Cars
All costs associated with the provision of cars for charitable use are provided free of charge. This includes road tax, insurance, roadside assistance, MOT, servicing and maintenance, and repairs. Travel records are kept and fuel is paid at cost, rather than a ppm rate, saving the charity u thousands of pounds per year.
10
Our Future Plans
Next year...
There is always another job needing done, or another plan needing planned! Here are some of the things we’d like to achieve next year, to keep making the weans’ home and lives as good as can be, and the charity moving forward.
Fundraising
We hope to invest in a new photo printer so that we can print our own photos and other fundraising materials here, giving us more flexibility and options for sustainable fundraising.
Grant Applications
We will dedicate time to applying for grants during the coming year, in the hope that this will help us pay for some of the infrastructure work that needs to be done.
Upgrading the Gardens for the Auldies
We plan to put in drainage, paving, a covered outdoor snoozing area and lots of sensory, sniffy things for the Auldies in their garden to the side of the main house.
Social Media
We hope to increase our community on social media, and find new ways to engage with our existing community, so they can be as much a part of the weans’ lives as possible.
Making the weans happy
Most of all, we will keep bellies full, beds warm, hearts and bodies healthy and happy, and make life - and death - as good as can be for the weans. “It’s whit we dae...”
Thank you everyone for being here with us.
in
“ee epee pe BET Sane IS NIA ee PE aa AOE ac oer ig= ieee SeNS ah eehe RR SDR accelaoa onticeeda eeehaePope Retac aN eh Ean oo Pacey ay Sa rie ett wea Sr[cgi] aeatin See etleetine fei Sagefe eea ee Hee Reeth Raneeseer eenaseegt SNSoneoe a Mn oNWecaReecete anea Na a eesg Cee Ne Signed for and on behalf of the trustees: ,
Kerry McCleary, Director and Chair 28th April 2026