PetRescue UK and Ireland

Aim

Help us raise £50,000 to make pet adoption easier so that rescued animals of all shapes and sizes can find their perfect home!

We want people to find their ideal rescue pet.

And we want pet adoption to be the UK and Ireland's preferred method of choosing a pet.

Please fund us so we can make it happen. 

Are you tired of looking through endless rescue websites in search of your perfect pet and disappointed at being rejected? Then please support us!

Today there are 1000’s of rescue pets looking for homes, and research shows over 90% of the public would choose a rescue pet if only they could find the right one. 

We are a charity launching a new website that will match you with your future pet FOR FREE, whatever your lifestyle choices or type of animal (dog, cat, horse, rabbit, etc).

Only reputable rescue centres across the UK and Ireland are able to join and feature pets for adoption -  no rogue dealers or puppy farmers!

OUR VISION is to make pet adoption the first choice by inviting all reputable rescue centres in the UK and Ireland to join us and present their adoptable pets on one website, with a free and easy to use search functionality for the public to find their perfect pet - whether a dog, cat, rabbit or any other species.

HOW YOUR KIND DONATION WILL BE USED:

We want to become the 'go to' site for adoptable pets in the UK and Ireland and that is why we need to raise these start-up funds to launch the platform and give all rescued pets the chance to find their perfect home. We will do this by utilising an existing PetRescue platform that has been successfully tried and tested in Australia.

• Your donations will be used to help fund the initial launch costs involved in modifying and implementing the existing PetRescue platform to suit the UK and Ireland region.  This is a far cheaper and quicker solution than developing our own platform from scratch, and covers everything from the internet front end, through to the technical support team and ongoing development programme. The platform in Australia has been operating for 17 years and we are therefore able to benefit from the vast amount of experience and teamwork that already exists.

If we are able to generate further funds we will use them to pay for: 

• Longer term platform licensing costs
• Ongoing operating costs (whilst we intend to use volunteers wherever possible, we will need a small core team to enable us to provide an excellent service to rehoming organisations, and ensure the highest animal welfare standards are met).

 Thank you so much for your support!

WHAT ARE WE AIMING TO ACHIEVE?

We are a non-profit making registered charity. Our aims are to end pet homelessness and make adoption the number one choice for anyone bringing a pet into their life through:

• Raising awareness of pets available for adoption across the UK and Ireland
• Making the pet adoption process simple for everyone – from the good people running shelters looking for homes for animals in their care, to pet-loving members of the public, on a multi-species nationwide basis
• Providing a straightforward, proven, technology led solution with clear search and match-making functionality for all available pets
• In addition, raising public awareness by providing useful information to maximise the health and welfare of every pet

We believe passionately in working towards a world where all rescue pets are in ‘forever’ homes where they can live healthy and happy lives with loving owners. 

There are currently thousands of rescue organisations that have pets available for rehoming. We are a nation of pet lovers, and we therefore have a large number of homes available for these pets. This platform will provide the missing link between the two, by matching the right owner with the right pet.

A bit about PetRescue UK and Ireland

How it all started.

A couple of years ago I needed to find a suitable companion for my 23 year old rescue pony, Hattie; the criteria was simple.

The companion needed to be:

• A ‘senior’ to keep my old pony company
• A miniature Shetland, so they'd have similar grazing and welfare needs

Thinking this would be easy I searched charity websites, Facebook groups, Facebook pages and other social media sites. I telephoned various charities and emailed many people to no avail. Due to the process being so disjointed and slow,  I actually started to consider buying a pony.

That was my Eureka moment!  Why aren’t all animals who are available for adoption visible in one central place?  Why do we have to search lots of websites, social media sites, and phone around the shelters?  Why can’t we have a simple, central platform, run on a charitable basis where we could all search for adoptable animals?

The great news is, the platform already exists. It's called PetRescue and it's been working to save the lives of animals since 2004.  Check it out for yourself PetRescue Australia

"What's so great about PetRescue?", we hear you ask.

 Well for a start, it  displays all types of pets from all different charities and rescue shelters in one central place.

And if you have young children or your work hours prevent you from being home all day, PetRescue will help you find a pet that suits your lifestyle, avoiding the unnecessary disappointment of applying for pets that aren't right for your daily life.

And, if you don't have lots of time to spend searching, PetRescue will enable you to create alerts that will notify you whenever a potential pet match is found!

My name is Colleen Long, and whilst I have a business background, I have spent over a decade caring for retired horses and ponies, and now I run a small sanctuary for geriatric animals alongside a registered charity (Charity Buddy, registered charity number 1189284) that provides business support to many animal welfare organisations nationwide. 

One of the charity’s current objectives is to bring PetRescue to the UK and Ireland so we can bring about the change that is needed. Our charity now has a team of volunteers bringing IT skills, project management experience, and marketing prowess to make this dream a reality.

PetRescue UK and Ireland was established in 2020 to support you, the public, as well as animal rescue centres and to meet the needs of unwanted and abandoned pets of all shapes, sizes and species in the UK and Ireland today.  

Our team members are all volunteers who own rescue animals and are active in many aspects of animal welfare in the UK and abroad, we are committed to launching this nationwide platform that brings together reputable animal shelters and rehoming organisations with people looking for a pet, in a one-stop, easy to use format.

Why is this so important and necessary now?

• There are some unscrupulous and, at times criminal, breeders who are using pets as a way to make money with little or no regard for the animals’ welfare, and the public are being scammed into buying these animals.  Only genuine ‘rescues’ will feature on our platform
• The pandemic has exacerbated the situation with many animals bred to meet an initial demand, coupled with a realisation by many pet owners that they made an impulse decision and can no longer house the pet
• In April & May 2020 The Kennel Club reported a 225% increase in the number of enquiries for puppies compared with the previous year (Ref 1)
• 41.3% of puppy buyers surveyed said that the Covid-19 pandemic influenced their decision to purchase a puppy (Ref 1)
• As a ‘double whammy’ the pandemic has also impacted animal shelters with many now under-staffed to the point where they can’t keep on top of enquiries, applications and new rescues
• After the 2008 recession, animal surrenders increased by 30% (Ref 2). If this happens again we could expect to see a further 25,500 extra strays over the next 5 years, with many rescue organisations struggling financially, having seen their income drop by over 50% in 2020 (Ref 3).
• It can be easier for a potential pet owner to buy direct from a breeder than navigate the adoption process
• Inadequate matching processes result in unsuitable rehoming outcomes and hence animals being returned to shelters as well as disappointing people who are turned down for adoption by the shelters
• Stories from the media talk about sick pets, rogue traders, and huge prices being asked for dogs. It is the rescue organisations that will help these poor souls when they become too ill, difficult or expensive to keep.

One final request … please can you take five minutes to forward the link to this site to 10 friends who you believe share a desire to make a difference to the lives of abandoned pets.

With your generous support, we will achieve this launch.   On behalf of all the rescue animals out there who are longing to find a loving home, we thank you.

Sources:

Ref 1.Study by RVC Pandemic Puppies

Ref 2. Presentation by Battersea Dogs and Cats Home at APDAWG event 2021

Ref 3. ADCH 2021 Member Survey

This project closed unsuccessfully on 31st March 2021