Dogs Trust Worldwide understands the scale of suffering faced by dogs all around the world, and we aim to support local organisations, who share our vision and values, to help improve the lives and welfare of dogs worldwide.
In 2023 Dogs Trust Worldwide, in partnership with Purina, awarded a number of grants of up to £10,000 to provide support to non-for-profit organisations across Europe to improve their local rehoming practices to help the lives of dogs and cats in their care and within their communities.
We received an extremely high calibre and number of applications for this funding, and we are pleased to share details of the selected organisations and their projects.
Animal Care Centre
Located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Animal Care Centre’s goal is to protect and rehome animals, with a mission to find abandoned dogs forever homes.
The shelter is outside the city, on a mountainside with harsh temperatures in both the summer and winter. The organisation is using the grant to minimise the effects of weather on the dogs in their care and to reduce running costs, by establishing a green roof on the kennels and centre. The result will be a sustainable and energy efficient cooling and heating system for the centre, keeping the dogs comfortable year-round.
Chats Du Quercy
A cat rehoming centre in the Midi-Pyrenees regions in France, Chats Du Quercy’s mission is to encourage a world where cats’ needs are known, accepted and respected.
The centre can look after 110 cats, and the grant will help the organisation renew enclosures dedicated for their nursing cats and kittens which are no longer fit for purpose. The project will provide new hygienic modular enclosures that will house 16 cats with kittens and could benefit over 500 cats per year.
Association HATHI
Association Hathi is a dog shelter in France which rescues and rehomes hunting breed dogs. The shelter offers enriching exercise opportunities for the dogs in their care.
The project is to create a secure training space for Canicross and mushing activities. A professional trainer collaborates with the shelter and together with this new space, their aim is to appeal to sports enthusiasts looking to adopt, who will harness the activities enjoyed by these dogs.
NOE Allatotthon Alapitvany (The Noah’s Ark Animal Shelter)
This is the largest animal shelter in Hungary. They rescue animals in need, provide medical treatment and try to find new homes for the dogs and cats in their care.
The grant will go towards modernising some of their kennels which are over 20 years old, improving the comfort and welfare of their animals.
Rex Dog Shelter Foundation
Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the Rex Dog Shelter Foundation is located in Hungary where they can look after up to 120 dogs and 80 cats and find loving homes for them.
Their Companion Animal Adoption Centre sits within the Budapest Animal Protection and Nature Park – also known as Rex Animal Island – and with the grant they will be renovating and modernising their existing run for their dogs to enjoy and for potential adopters to get to know them. They will also be creating videos explaining the adoption process and promoting individual dogs which will make it more efficient and accessible for potential adopters.
Cat Care Community
This Latvian volunteer led organisation focuses on improving the lives of street cats, including neutering drives, providing essential vet care, installing shelters on the streets and rehoming cats suitable for adoption.
The community has no formal shelter, with foster carers taking care of cats who need some TLC, and they operate mainly through social media to organise events and to appeal for adopters and fosterers. The funding will enable the organisation to create educational resources for adopters, build on their social media presence and to help more cats by administering necessary vaccinations and vet procedures.
Malta Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (MSPCA)
MSPCA is Malta’s largest animal welfare organisation and has been taking care of and rehoming dogs and cats for over 120 years. They also run education programmes to improve awareness and knowledge of animal welfare.
Their shelter can house up to 20 dogs and the grant will allow them to improve their facility by creating agility and meet and greet areas. This will help improve the rehabilitation process for their dogs and for potential adopters to bond with the dogs in a secure environment, supporting them in their adoption journey.
Royal Association for the Protection of Dogs (RAPD)
A Dutch organisation advocating for the protection and welfare of dogs for more than 100 years, RAPD focusses on caring for and rehoming older and vulnerable dogs.
Embarking on building a new shelter in Den Ham to complete this year, the organisation will use the funding to help enhance the new facility with a play area, with different surfaces and enrichments. The exercise play area will provide great enrichment for their dogs and improve their welfare while in the shelter’s care.
Kurtaran Ev Dernegi (Rescue House)
This shelter located 47km outside of Istanbul looks after around 800 dogs, 300 cats, four donkeys and two horses and they find abandoned cats and dogs loving homes.
They will use the grant in an innovative way to promote dog adoption and fostering, by creating a mobile adoption and foster unit, to take their dogs available for adoption into the city for regular adoption events.
Rzeszowskie Stowarzyszenie OchronyZwierzą
A Polish NGO which runs a municipality owned shelter which can look after up to 150 dogs and 70 cats and finds them forever homes.
The organisation will be using the funding to carry out in-house grooming and to enhance photography used for adoption appeals, in order to increase the number of rehomed dogs and cats.
Viva Foundation
Providing a shelter for over 500 animals in Korabiewice Poland, VIVA has rehomed animals since 2000 and established a network of private foster homes around the country.
The funding will help to re-establish a popular event, run annually to promote adoption. This event will be significant to support the organisation’s rehoming and fostering efforts.