History of K9 Crusaders – K9 Crusaders Dog Welfare

Our History ….so far

It all began with one determined dog lover and a newsletter in 2002 and has, over the following years, ballooned into a rescue centre with over 40 dogs looking for new homes. 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.

Next steps

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!).

We recently also started working with groups to take dogs through the Kennel Club Good Citizen Scheme, including some of our own kennel dogs.