About Us
We deal with all kinds of issues relating to dogs, from rescue and rehoming via our Welfare Centre in Bissoe, to behavioural support and advice on many aspects of dog husbandry. We are independent and have no other income stream, and rely solely on donations to keep going and on volunteers to try to keep up with the ever increasing demand for help.
History of K9 Crusaders
Our founder Sue first began by publishing a newsletter to educate people in matters of dog husbandry and welfare, but soon found out that members of the public were contacting her for help with getting their dogs rehomed. Sue acted as a clearing house trying to put people in touch with welfare organisations that could accommodate the dogs, but soon discovered that they were all full and many dogs had nowhere to go.
At that point K9 Crusaders became more than a provider of useful information and became the bare bones of the welfare organisation it is today. We started with a network of foster homes, often losing them as ‘failed fosters’ when the dogs just never left, and for dogs that needed to be taken from the home immediately we began paying for places in boarding kennels, with some kennels offering discounted or even free spaces where they could if we were lucky. We also left dogs in their relinquishing homes wherever possible and assessed them and then moved them straight to a new home. We produced leaflets and posters, and ran events such as dog shows and fayres to make money, permanently trying hard to raise enough to pay for kennel spaces to meet the demand. Even at that stage it was costing at least £1000 a month to keep these dogs safe.
It all changed thanks to a legacy from a great supporter Val Brown, who unfortunately passed away from cancer, but bequeathed us enough money to buy the above ground facilities on our current site. We still have to pay rent to the landowner but at least now we have so much more room to help lots more dogs in need. This could not have come at a better time as the number of dogs needing rehoming has gone through the roof in the last few years.
We have already been able to offer work placements for college students, with a few even being taken on as part time kennel staff, to expand their knowledge and employability in the field of animal husbandry and welfare. We also have people with additional needs visiting regularly, and have also worked with young offenders, Back to work schemes and Access training.
K9 Crusaders also go out into the community giving talks for youth groups, seniors clubs, Cub Scouts and in schools and colleges. We are always available for advice and assistance with any dog related issues ( and even sometimes other issues too!).
Thanks to a grant from Support Adoption for Pets we now have a new project underway to create a secure public space for people to exercise their dogs in safety. This will be perfect for exempted dogs and those who cannot be off lead in public for various reasons. It will also make a wonderful training area for our own dogs, increasing their rehomability many fold.
We fully intend to expand our services, as funds allow, and be able to further help the local community and the hundreds of unwanted, stray, abandoned and unloved dogs in Cornwall.
Our missions for the future include
- A Home from Home suite for people with mobility issues to come and spend time sitting with a dog, providing mutual benefit for both human and dog alike
- A ‘Paws for Nature’ dog walk with environmentally friendly planting, bird nestboxes, insect hotels, hedgehog houses etc
- An all weather facility to host our events, and also to offer a space for other local groups and clubs to meet
- Full disabled access to our entire site with a multi use toilet facility
If you would like to help us achieve these dreams, donations can be made through Paypal (link is on our front page) or by cheque (payable to K9 Crusaders) to the address on the next tab.
Thanks for reading
Contact Info
POSTAL ADDRESS
K9 Crusaders Dog Welfare
Hollybush Farm
Bissoe
TRURO
Cornwall
TR4 8TF
PHONE
01872 560232
General Enquiries/Dog Rehoming – 10am-5.30pm
Emergencies only (Lost dogs) – 24 hours
EMAIL – GENERAL
k9crusaders@hotmail.co.uk
EMAIL – BEHAVIOURAL HELP
k9crusaders@btinternet.com
