The Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals cares for stray, injured and ill treated creatures.
Stray and sick dogs and cats in Dublin reported to the DSPCA are brought to the Dogs and Cats home at Grand Canal Quay. The animal welfare charity has been operating in the Dublin area since 1840.
Some dogs hit by cars are brought in with injuries. Cats are often neglected and can turn feral, becoming a nuisance. A call is usually made by a concerned member of the public to the DSPCA, who take the animals in and nurse them back to health. The best outcome is that they make a full recovery and are,
Ready to go out to families who will look after them properly.
DSPCA staff member Therese Cunningham explains, that over 11,000 dogs come into their care each year. Many are genuine strays, but some owners find that their dog has not turned out to be a suitable pet and hand them in to the DSPCA.
Some of them may have got into bad habits the kind of dogs who are out chasing cars all day.
There is always hope for the animals who find themselves here, says RTÉ newsreader Charles Mitchel who is on the DSPCA committee.
You don't have to get them put down. We find a home for them.
Young people in particular can do a great deal to help animals in distress by becoming junior members of the DSPCA. Charles Mitchel also believes that they are more attuned to what is going on around them,
Stray donkeys, dogs that don’t have a home, they can see those more readily than adults.
This report for 'Youngline’ was broadcast on 21 December 1978. The reporter is Hilary Orpen.
'Youngline' was a once weekly, half-hour magazine show for younger viewers. The first programme was broadcast on Tuesday, 23 November 1976 from 5.30 to 6.00 pm. 'Youngline' continued until May 1984.
