Pauline

Founder Member

Helping the Irish dogs in distress has been both my hobby and my passion for 6 years now and it has been a pleasure assisting Sandie to do this.

Sometimes, when things have got really bad, we have all cried together but, when we hear an update from one of our adopters and we see pics of one of our dogs settled happily in his or her forever home, then we know why we continue to put ourselves through what can be agony sometimes.

For a long time I was number 2 to Lorraine in the UK concentrating on logistics and general organising but mostly just mucking in with everything when needed……………..fostering, transporting, homechecking etc………..as well as trying to make sure IRR ran smoothly from day to day. Sadly, ill health has forced me to retire from the sharp end but I still do what I can when I can, especially in the very necessary area of fundraising.

When Di, very ably, took over as Website Editor, it was a great relief for me and I can now really enjoy reading the news and articles.

I seem to have always been involved in rescue to a degree (homechecking for the RSPCA about 25 yrs ago) and, over the years, I have had 12 rescue dogs of my own. At present, 5 of my 7 are IRR rescues…..Danny, Georgie, Gizmo, Rhani & Ferdie.

In my madder (and younger) days, I was owned, all at the same time, by 4 GSDs, 3 of whom were rescues, 2 rescue Crossbreeds and a Golden Retriever and 7 rescue cats. My husband then, sensibly put his foot down when I attempted to bring rescue dog number 8 into the house and I settled for just helping with homechecking and fundraising instead. I was introduced by these boys and girls to the worlds of working trials and obedience and, despite me, the dogs managed to gather a plethora of rosettes and certificates.

But time crept on and eventually heartbreak came and, one by one, my babies started going to Rainbow Bridge:((

After I lost Rags, Tessa and Honey (2 GSDS and my GR) in 8 weeks, it was Barney who saved me from going over the brink. He was a delightful golden retriever puppy and the runt of his litter.

The next year my darling Bobby (lab x GSD) and Abbey (GSD) also went to the Bridge and the next year was no better losing Lucky (collie X) and finally Max (GSD) shortly after bringing Freddie, the most adorable GSD puppy into our family.

Freddie had ongoing health problems, due to a serious adverse reaction to vaccination, and he introduced me to the world of homeopathy and complementary therapies. I joined Canine Health Concern (CHC) in 1998 to glean as much information as possible from people whose dogs had suffered in a similar way.

I kept my promise to my husband to keep to sensible numbers (Barney and Freddie) for about 4 yrs during which time I concentrated on doing working trials with both dogs and obedience, and even breed showing with Barney but my instincts to help out the unwanted and unloved dogs were still there, just bubbling beneath the surface.

In 2001 Ricky (GR) arrived. He was not a true rescue but he was a failed show dog (and nephew to my Barney). I was supposed to be looking for a home for him but after fostering him, he went no further. In 2004, the same thing happened again when I was looking for a home for Eddie (brother to Ricky and nephew to Barney).

In 2005, IRR was created, to help Sandie who I had met through a CHC chat group, and the rest, as they say, is history. In 2006, we completely fell in love with one of our foster furkids and Danny (our first Irish boy) came to stay. He has proved to be an angel at settling in other rescues who arrive, bless him. He is the one sitting at the back.

2006 was a very bad year for me as I lost both my beloved Barney and my very special Freddie but one good thing did happen when we failed, yet again, as fosterers and naughty Gizmo (another Irish foster boy) came to stay for good.

As Barney had done all those years before, he really helped to put the smile back on our faces. Gizmo was found scavenging on a rubbish heap as just a little puppy but, for sure, he will never want for anything ever again.

After that, we have “failed” three more times as fosterers with Rhani in 2007, Ferdie in 2008 and Georgie in 2010.

Sandie says “Unfortunately, Pauline has had to take a back seat from the daily running of IRR for health reasons. Pauline was always a trojan and used to get up in the middle of the night to travel across the UK to meet dogs arriving from Ireland. She once drove up to Holyhead during the night to meet dogs getting off the boat in the morning and then driven them to their respective foster homes.

She has also had the responsibility of organising the Reunion every year, which she has done with such precision and pride – every year getting better and better. She is the type of person that if she cannot give 100% of herself, then it’s just not good enough. Pauline’s 100% is worth someone else’s 1000%.

Pauline still beavers away in the background coming up with new ideas for fundraising, advising on homoeopathic remedies and meeting points for transport.”