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Trustees’ Report
For the Year Ending 31stDecember 2019
Chairman V Wilson
Trustees L Carnell
H Boland
S Laird
L Moy-Burkitt
R Bracewell
Principle Address Woodside Cottage
Slough Road
Danbury
Essex
CM3 4LX
Charity Registration Number 1181158
VAT Number 327792275
Objectives & Activities
Our principle objective is to relieve the suffering of Dachshund and Dachshund Cross Breeds throughout the UK in need of care and attention and, in particular to provide and maintain rescue homes or other facilities for the reception, care and treatment of such animals surrendered to, or rescued by us. Also To promote humane behavior towards Dachshund and Dachshund Cross Breeds throughout the UK by providing appropriate care, protection, treatment and security for animals which are in need of care and attention by reason of sickness, maltreatment, poor circumstances or ill-usage and to educate the public in matters pertaining to animal welfare in general and the prevention of cruelty and suffering among animals
In 2019 208 dogs were surrendered to The Red Foundation for rehoming. Of those 208 129 were Male and 79 Female. Mini Smooth Haired far outweighed the other coats and size at a total of 111. Less than 50% of those surrendered were KC registered. 3 Dachshunds were surrendered to us from another rescue who were struggling to rehome them and needed our specialist help, and dog wardens surrendered 2 dogs that were stray. We also had 18 Dogs with IVDD surrendered to us for life long care funded by The Red Foundation.
The 4 Main reasons for surrender were
- Behavioural Issues including dog and human aggression.
- Change in circumstance of owner meaning the dog was being left too long
- Ill Health or Death of owner
- Separation Anxiety & Anxiety Issues
When an owner struggling with behavioral issues or separation anxiety contacts us, we often offer them free behavioural advice with a view to the Dachshund staying with its original owners and working through any problems. We are lucky enough to have 2 qualified trainers & behaviourists that offer their services to us for free, and their help and guidance directly with the owners has stopped many Dachshunds being surrendered.
Applications to our database to adopt, foster or provide transport rose by 2100 this year, bringing the total number of applications to 4500. Each applicant is emailed to confirm receipt and also to remind them that we choose new homes based on the dogs needs not on length of time on the database. One of our team has also begun auditing the database to remove any applicants who are no longer looking to adopt.
Due to the popularity of the breed being used in advertising and on merchandise, we receive many phone calls and hundreds of emails and Facebook messages every week, these generally fall into one of the following categories;
- Would like to adopt and want more information – They are referred to our website which contains a host of information regarding the nature of Dachshunds, the adoption and fostering process and the issues a dog that has been surrendered to us may have, along with information regarding IVDD and rare breed colour health risks and links to the Dachshund Breed Council.
- Reports of dogs for sale on selling sites at very low prices or free, which have a high potential to end up on puppy farms or as bait.We contact each of these adverts to offer our services. We tend to find the owners who are genuinely looking for a good home and have the welfare of their dog as a priority will accept our help to rehome, especially as we offer lifetime support.
- Change of circumstance leading to the need for their dog to be rehomed. We discuss our procedures and policies, answer any questions they may have and begin the process.
- Behavioural issues looking for advice.
To cope with the continuing increase in demand of our services our admin and case worker team has risen to a total of 9. In 2019 we also were able to start benefitting from gift aid, became VAT registered and now provide all of our adopted dogs with 2 months free insurance and 5kg of Raw food.
We have seen an increase in Dachshunds with IVDD being surrendered to us this year. This is due to the hard work required to rehabilitate a dog with IVDD after an operation, insurances or funds not being in place to cover the cost of the operations and ongoing costs and care required for dogs that have continued paralysis, which can also be life changing for the owner. In the past these dogs may have been put to sleep as there was no other options for owners that couldn’t provide what was required. The Red Foundation are extremely lucky that the Dachshund community continue to fund raise and support us so that we can continue helping IVDD dogs.
We have used the cases of IVDD to publicise and educate owners and potential owners on the need for a good level of insurance for Dachshunds. We also have information regarding the disease on our website and link to The Breed Council’s information and studies on IVDD.
Along with IVDD we have used several other of the dogs surrendered to us to educate owners and potential owner about serious issues in the breeding of Dachshunds;
- Blue and dilute coats – These dogs are advertised by unscrupulous breeders as rare colours and therefore more expensive to buy, however the colour comes from a gene mutation and can cause horrendous skin problems and a lifetime of pain for the dogs. All of the Blue coated Dachshunds rehomed by The Red Foundation, including 1 rescued from a puppy farm will be covered for life with any costs relating to skin conditions or issues that have occurred due to their colour.
- Double Dapple breeding – Again these dogs can be advertised as rare but in reality they have occurred only due to bad breeding practices. Double dapples can have more health issues than we can list including deafness and blindness. We have been using an example of a puppy surrendered to us from another rescue, who was born deaf and without eyes and was potentially being put to sleep, to educate owners and potential owners regarding double dapples. We rehomed the puppy with a very experienced owner who has several other blind dogs and although there is nothing we can provide to cure the deafness and blindness, we again will cover any vet costs relating to her Double Dapple for life.
Financial Review
Total income for 2019 was £90674.48
Total expenditure for 2019 was £65244.54
The majority of our costs were vets fees:
IVDD Costs £19980.86
Dental Costs £6789.21
Neutering Costs £8383.35
Mixed Dental & Neuter Cost £5597.11
Specialist Costs £3187.42
Vet Check, Vaccinations etc. £5837.85
Lifetime Care Dog Costs £3105.89
Behaviourist Costs £2588.50
We also had costs relating to boarding, Medicine, Grooming, Insurance, Office Expenses and Training
Funds carried forward total £64999.84
Reserves Policy
When a Dachshund is rehomed by us with previous episodes of IVDD or existing medical issues, these are generally excluded from any insurance the new owner takes out, so The Red Foundation commit to funding any treatment required relating to these issues for life.
We currently have 25 IVDD dogs that we could potentially have to fund surgeries for in the future, and 27 Lifetime Care dogs with existing medical conditions that we will also continue to fund treatment required.
The Red Foundation Trustees review the level of reserves on an ongoing basis to ensure there is enough to cover the running costs of the charity and continue supporting these Dachshunds and any others surrendered to us for life. The reserves balance at the end of 2019 was £64999.84
Structure, Governance and Management
The Red Foundation is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and is governed by its constitution dated 13thDecember 2018.
This annual report was approved by the trustees of the Charity on 25thFebruary 2020 and is signed on its behalf by
V Wilson (Chairman)