My mission is about saving millions of dogs around the world. Thats all well and good in theory but sometimes things just smash you from every angle in unexpected ways.
Keeping the show on the road means adapting to what is thrown at you while maintaining the goals of the big picture. That hasn’t been easy…
Puppies Feel Like A Failure
January has seen around 40-50 puppies pop up in the local area. They have been beside busy roads, down holes, dumped in the jungle and generally coming out of everywhere. My phone has been lighting up with new puppies everywhere and the 40-50 are only the ones I know about. There will be 10X more at least out there.
It feels like a kick in the teeth because of all the effort going in to stop this. The biggest focus I’ve had and the only true solution to cutting down the suffering is sterilisation. Controlling the population. It’s expensive and tricky logistically but with donations, great partners and a lot of determination I’ve been able to do 350 dogs since the 1st April last year. We are now running at 50 dogs per month.
I naively thought we wouldn’t be seeing scenes like this again but of course I’m only tackling the tip of the iceberg. What makes it so challenging is that I can’t just leave puppies to die and need to spend time helping them. More time doing that is less time sterilising. A cruel double edged sword.
New Arrivals
This week saw a little puppy scooped up by my friends. He was obviously in such a bad state that he had to be taken in immediately. He is still battling for his little life as I write this but he has made it through the first 48 hours.
You can see just how much pain his is in and how bad he is in this video. If my friends had not spotted him he would be dead by now. I’ve been sitting with him for hours at a time watching him breath and hoping he makes it. Calling it an emotional rollercoaster doesn’t even begin to explain what having a little guy battling for his life in front of you is like. I know if he can just make it through this a very very bright future awaits him.
The Biggest Gut Punch Of All
I’ve had my own rescue Snoop for close to 11 years now. He is about 13 years old and he has been my shadow through depression, addiction, good times and dark days. This week his legs started to give up and his health deteriorated rapidly. He has 2 fused vertebrae and suddenly he isn’t able to stand or control his toilets.
I decided to built him a VIP retirement home under my desk as he enters this new stage of his life. It features yoga mats for grip, soft toys, photos and paintings he can look at as well as treats.
It’s not an exaggeration to say I wouldn’t be here today were it not for Snoop. To see him go downhill so fast is incredibly tough. I’m putting an incredibly brave face on things and keeping the spirits up for him so as we can enjoy our time together just like we always have.
Staying Positive - The Numbers
Reading this you’d think it had been a horrendous month and I often fall into that way of thinking myself. That is why I like doing these updates to keep some perspective. Despite all the knocks this is what has happened in January…
50 Dogs Sterilised stopping 1000s more puppies
700 Dogs fed fresh food every single day
4 Dogs have forever homes overseas and are getting ready to travel
100+ dogs given preventative medicines to improve their lives
10+ Dogs lives saved with vet care
In my head I wanted to be a little further down the road with progress in January. Life doesn’t work like that. All of the above takes a serious toll mentally and I need to make sure I don’t burn out which was very close to happening during the month.
The only thing I can do is double down on the scale of everything. Take proper rest. Find bigger solutions. Stick to the plan. I’m hoping in a few years time when the world is improving for these dogs globally I’ll look back at months like this and say “Yes just keeping the show on the road back then helped us get here today”.
Despite being bitten, having anxiety linked to burnout and a million other small challenges I’ve never been more determined, focused or excited about delivering the vision. The problems and suffering I see for the dogs on a daily basis drive me on. There are challenges, hurdles, backward steps and mistakes to overcome but thats the same for everybody in life.
As ever, I couldn’t do it without all the support from people online. We’ll get there!
Big love
Niall
P.S You can always help by donating here, on Paypal or just subscribing to this email.
Keeping The Show On The Road
It will never be easy but it will always be worth it ❤️
Amazing what you do each and every day Niall and happy to regularly donate to your cause
700 dogs fed daily is just beyond incredible youve inspired many people all over the world 👏👏