Ashbourne Animal Welfare

28/11/2025

Jessie ❤️
She’s a lovely 9yr old Whippet…with a bit of a story!
Jessie’s story with us starting back in July - she came to us with a group of dogs as their owner was too unwell to care for them any longer - the group consisted of Jessie and Jake her ‘husband’ and 5 of their puppies from 2 litters.. as well as a terrier ‘aunt’.
Upon arrival, it was obvious that Jessie was pregnant again, despite her last litter only being 7 months old.

So, not only was Jessie distressed and upset at leaving the home she was born in, and had lived in for the last 9yrs… within a week of being with us, she went into labour!
We watched on a camera as she had 1 pup, but no more appeared.. we were told that she was expecting 3-4, so the next day Jessie went to the vets to see what was wrong, 3 more puppies came naturally after a bit of persuasion and Dan from the staff being a midwife!… but shockingly she still had another 4 to come!! She was too weak, so had to have a C-section, which came with a risk and sadly 4 of her puppies died pretty quickly.

The next issue was 1 puppy wasn’t feeding, and Jessie didn’t really have much milk.. unfortunately despite our best efforts, including taking the puppies away for hand rearing, all of the litter devastatingly passed away within a a week of being born. Jessie was understandably very confused, so we put her daughter from a previous litter with her for company… which seemed to help.

As time went on, Jessie became a little more independent from her daughter (who was rehomed shortly after). But then the next issue Jessie faced was a big dental! She made it through the anaesthesia again, with shiny clean teeth! (and a few gaps!).

All was going well, Jessie seemed to be a happier dog.. and we began trying to find her a new home… until a recently during her walk with a volunteer, whilst having a cuddle, a lump was found in Jessie’s neck, and it later turned out to be thyroid cancer 😔. The prognosis looked bleak, but after talking with the oncologist we opted to scan her chest, which revealed it hadn’t spread… so she could have surgery to try and remove it!
We were warned that the surgery for this cancer can be dangerous, and sometimes impossible depending on what’s going on around it..

She went for the operation on Thursday, and this is her recovering! Thankfully for Jessie it was a success, and she should be back to her normal self soon!

With our vets bills averaging at £10-12k a month for routine care, and a few more big operations booked in for the next month, as well as poor Jessie’s 3 operations recently… any donations would be greatly appreciated, if anybody is able to contribute (using the link below)

https://www.goodhub.com/go/offerings/ashbourne-and-district-animal-welfare-society/donations/create

Jessie’s story just goes to show that rescue is rarely straight forward, and donations in any form are always needed and are very much appreciated!

Fingers crossed that Jessie is in a home for Christmas! She definitely deserves it! ❤️

26/11/2025

Lena is a lovely 14wk old Malinois cross pup who came to us for rehoming due to her previous owners ill health… unfortunately shes already had a couple of homes in her short life, prior to coming to us. Despite her unsettled start, Lena is a confident little lady who bonds with people quickly – she needs a forever family to bond with as soon as possible.

Lena is a Malinois cross (apparently Labrador) but she looks like a Mali! She also shows lots of Mali traits; very intelligent, confidence, and a desire to learn! She has great focus – she’s food motivated and picks things up very quickly! She already knows some of the basics. We would be looking for an experienced home for Lena, with people who are keen to input time into her so that she can achieve her potential. We would strongly advise puppy training classes for her, to continue her socialisation as well as growing the bond between her and her family. She has the potential to be a great ‘cani-sports’ dog, such as agility – she will certainly need something to keep her busy!

Lena is a typical puppy… she loves to play, she loves people and everything is one big game! She’s very affectionate, and does get upset when left alone – this is something that would need to be worked on in her new home. As she’s a puppy, she will need lots of time dedicated to her training – she’s not yet 100% housetrained, and can be a chewer if she’s bored!

Lena has lived with another dog, and could share her home again however any existing male dogs would need to be neutered prior to her adoption. She is workable with cats at this age, providing that they are introduced correctly. She’s not lived with children, however she could go to a home with slightly older children who are able to get involved with her care – however be aware that she’s very much a puppy and can be mouthy.

Enquiries via our online form only.

24/11/2025

Candy! 🍬

Candy has been with us a while now, quietly living in our community room.

She’s around 2 years old, and came to us due to her previous owner having too many cats.

Whilst Candy is a friendly cat, she isn’t a big fan of being touched - she’s happy to be around people, sit on the sofa next to you, or sat watching from her cat tree.. we are getting her used to touch, but this is something that will take time and patience.

Candy LOVES other cats, and has made friends with various other cats who have come and gone through the cattery! Her current pals are Gizmo & Flake (photo in comments) she could also live with a cat-friendly dog, as she seems keen to go out into our cat gardens to see them as they pass by!

19/11/2025

Wow! What an amazing result!

Thank you!

14/11/2025

Don’t forget our Open Weekend this weekend!! 🐶🐱

13/11/2025

Update - he’s now home!

Reports of a dog on the lanes at Stanton/Ellastone

It’s a tan ridgeback/vizsla type dog with a blue collar on

We’ve put it on the village Facebook but no one seems to know whose it is. We tried to get him in the car but he didn’t want to get in the car, and ran into the fields on the map.

12/11/2025

12/11/2025

BAKING FOR OUR OPEN WEEKEND!

We have an Open Weekend on 15th & 16th November!

We hoping to have lots of visitors, which means we will need a good supply of cakes and delicious treats!!

If anybody is able to bake us a sweet treat, and drop it off as close to the open weekend as possible (or on the actual days) that would be brilliant! If you could let us know via email, phone or commenting below, that would be fantastic! And very much appreciated!

We do ask that any bake comes with a list of ingredients in case of allergies and food intolerances!

Thank you in advance!

We are also in need of new items for our tombola, stationary, sweets, chocolates, notepads etc are all great items.. as well as in date toiletries etc.

Thank you… and we hope to see everyone on our Open Weekend!

11/11/2025

06/11/2025

Robyn & Lark 🖤

These 3yr old Sisters came to us for rehoming 1.5yrs ago now, from a multi-cat home. They’ve never really had anybody interested in them 😔.

Robyn (at the bottom) is the more friendly lady… she’s more confident than her sister, and seems to enjoy some fuss.
Lark (at the top) is more shy, she will sit and watch, but likes to bide her time.

These 2 will need a patient home with people who will give them the space they need and allow them to settle in their own time. They will need a home without children.

Robyn & Lark will need to be the only cats on the home.

They love coming out into our socialising room, and having a snooze on the sofa! And when the weather is nice, they really enjoy going to sit out in the the garden… so a nice outdoor space for them, would be ideal.

05/11/2025

Beautiful boy Buzz! He’s a 9 month old Malinois cross who came to us through no fault of his own - he’s not had the best start in life, it appears that he’s had a couple of homes at least in his short life, and latterly he was being neglected outside to ‘train him to be a guard dog’ apparently! Thankfully a family member stepped in, and he came to us to find a loving new home.

Buzz is a Mali crossbreed (we suspect the cross could be a Collie, but we’re not sure). He’s high energy, intelligent and full of character! He will need an understanding, knowledgeable home… he wouldn’t be suitable for a first time dog owner.

Buzz is friendly with people, but can be cautious of some new people initially… he’s still a big puppy, and we are working on his socialisation here; this would need to continue in his new home. He really has improved massively during his time with us – we are confident that this will only continue. Buzz has never really been around children, and we think that he would be better in a home without young children at the moment. Once he gets over his initial caution… he’s a big softy! He loves a cuddle and is really responsive, he’s a happy boy who loves to get out for his walks, and he particularly enjoys his time in our exercise compounds, playing with his toys.

He can be vocal at other dogs when out on walks, however we have let him meet several of our other youngsters and he’s been fine with them – he’s over the top and boisterous, but just wants to play and have a good game! He may be able to share his home with a female companion of a similar size (any existing dogs would need to be neutered).

Buzz has had very little training, and will need a new family who can dedicate time to his ongoing training and socialisation. Buzz is reactive to traffic, and can get quite worked up when vehicles pass him on his walks (even at a distance) – he will need some work on desensitisation and positive reinforcement around traffic. He does seem a really bright boy, who will excel in the right home! Not only will Buzz need lots of physical exercise, he will need mental stimulation too to prevent him from becoming bored. He would be brilliant at agility or similar!