Rehoming Centre celebrates anniversary with heartfelt thanks

The centre was established in 1997 by founder Helen Davies and was originally based at Whitehill Road before moving a short time later to it’s current location on Ballygudden Road in Eglinton. The centre started off with a few dog pens and a small cattery, but over the years the facility expanded and now accommodates up to 25 dogs and between 60 and 80 cats and kittens

The centre rescues and rehomes on average just under 1,000 dogs and cats each year, and last year 404 dogs and 498 cats and kittens were rescued and rehomed directly from the centre.

Over 16 years the number of animals rescued and rehomed adds up to a vast number of animals which have been given a second chance at life.

“Such rehoming figures highlight the very real need for such a rescue and rehoming facility as the Rainbow Rehoming Centre provides,” said Ms Davis, adding: “As with every rehoming centre, we are always struggling to cope with the numbers of animals which need rescued and we could fill the centre 10 times over with unwanted animals. Unfortunately, we can only deal with so many at one time, so we are forced to turn animals away on a daily basis. We always give priority to animals that most need our help, particularly those that abandoned or victims of neglect or cruelty.”

“The centre receives no government funding so fundraising is vital to keep the centre running. We could not have achieved what we have over the last 16 years without the support and generosity of the public and we would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported us and continues to do so. It is this support that allows us to help so many animals each year. We hope to continue to help as many animals as we can in the coming years and our objective is to one day have a purpose built centre with better facilities to help more animals that need our help,” said Ms Davies.