By Nick Morrison

The dog is mans oldest domesticated animal the figure of 130,000 years has been attributed to this relationship .

Although the initial association with wolves probably goes back far longer. Cats horses and donkeys also spring to mind , as well as the conventional farming livestock . There are many recorded instances of positive relationship interactions with other animals as well but gorillas and owls as I found out recently were new to me .

Dogs do however sometimes suffer because of this relationship from unthinking or sometimes cruel humans . This is where the dog sanctuary comes into play.

There are two main reasons for a dog to wind up in a sanctuary . The first is from the municipal dog pound where a dog has been picked up as a stray or abandoned . The second is Owner  hand in . There are many reasons behind this but basically it is a change of circumstances for the owner . This could be bereavement moving accommodation where the new accommodation wont take animals, marriage breakup  –  the list goes on .

An unfortunate frequent case is the family that have taken on a cuddly pup with no thought to what they going to do once said cuddly pup grows up into a large active animal requiring frequent exercise .

All dogs coming to the sanctuary require assessment and some form of rehabilitation . Rehabilitation can take a few weeks , months or in some cases years . There is the occasional case  where a dog can never leave the sanctuary.

Loving Homes Dog Rescue 

The Loving Homes Dog Rescue  is a registered Scottish Charity  and is well-equipped to deal with these animals.

It has two paddocks equipped with high fences where the dogs can be exercised and a 3 acre field left wild where dogs can sniff rabbits and the like .

Coffee Morning

The sanctuary has recently been hit with an unprecedented string of vets bills mounting to over £7000 . This takes a bit of finding , to that end they are holding a coffee morning this coming Saturday in the Saint Magnus Centre starting at 10.00 AM.