Staffie Smiles Rescue

FOSTER HOMES NEEDED

We desperately need Foster Homes, do you feel you could open your heart and your home to a dog in need?

If so fostering is an incredible way of helping a dog in need and also helps you to find the dog that suits your lifestyle.

The rescue pays all the bills for that dog. We help with training and support for you.

Please have a look at our foster form below to apply and find out more information:

Fostering enquiry form - HELP SAVE A LIFE, RESCUE A STAFFIE (staffiesmilesrescues.com)

Lucy recovering from her spay in her Foster Home

Help us build our own kennel

We've some exciting news at Staffie Smiles Rescue, we are building our very own kennel space for a long-term dog currently in our care. Thank you to our supporters for their generous donations we have been able to build our kennels, there is still work to be done with fencing ect so we will still be raising funds but this is a huge milestone moment for us.

As a small rescue, we've never had a kennel of our own. However, we've found in recent times there is greater demand for long-term kennel spaces. Long-term boarding at a private kennel is a HUGE expense, with one dog alone costing us £2700 so far this year.
One of our team members is very kindly donating a piece of her garden and we had big dreams of building a kennel here with space for up to two dogs.

Not only would our own kennel help us save vital funds but it would also be in the best interest of our harder-to-rehome dogs. Especially those who would benefit from a quieter space and being closer to our volunteer team for walks and cuddles everyday. Our behaviourist will continue to visit on a regular basis for training and rehabilitation.

Please note, that this is not a permanent solution for long-term dogs, our intention is very much to rehome these dogs once they are ready to be rehomed. This is only a small project but it will make a massive difference to these dogs and to our rescue.

We know this is a big ask of our supporters. Especially as you've already shown us so much generosity in these difficult times. Any donation towards our kennel is greatly appreciated.

Donate Here

This is just a few of the things we do each day/week to keep the rescue running.

Read and reply to hundreds of emails every week
Dealing with urgent appeals for dogs in need that need saved.
Walk our dogs in kennels.
Transport dogs from kennels to their foster home, vet appointments etc
Calling potential adoption / foster applications.
Arrange and oversee home checks for each one of our dogs.
Update dogs' profiles on Facebook, website and social media platforms.
Deal with each dog's vet requirements and appointments
Manage 3 private Facebook groups - Foster/adopt/volunteer
Fundraise, apply for funds and grants
Network, making new contacts to help the dogs
Liase with trainers and behaviourists
Attend events to raise awareness, education and fundraising
Supporting our adopters and fosterers online and face to face.
Maintain our book work/paperwork, pay bills and balance books so we can continue to help more dogs as a charity.

We hope this shows you a small understanding of what we do behind the scenes to keep this small rescue running.

Thank you for all your support, we really do appreciate it.

SSR Team

Why pound dogs?

A dog pound is a facility where the local Council hold stray dogs found in their area, these dogs have been picked up by either Local Authorities or by the Police or been given up by their owners.

The name poundies
Poundies are dogs that are abused, dumped, abandoned; unwanted souls that find themselves with 7 days to live, in generally appalling conditions. Named ‘poundies’ as these conditions are council pounds across the UK that are ‘home’ to these dogs awaiting their death.

The dog will be kept there for 7 days. After 7 days, the dog will become the responsibility of the kennel. Due to the sheer volume of SBT’s arriving in Local Authority ‘pounds’, compared to other breeds of dog the SBT’s are frequently the ones that never get rescued and are left in the pounds when the dreaded ‘put to sleep date’ arrives.

About us

How we started

Our rescue Staffie Smiles Rescue or SSR was founded in October 2012 by a few staffie daft folk that met while volunteering for other rescues. Our love for these dogs is what gave us the drive and determination to make a difference to the future of these poor abandoned souls.

We are a group of staffie lovers from all over Scotland that have now come together to help save the lives of SBT and SBT crosses that end up in pounds across the UK through no fault of their own.

After being made aware of what happens to these dogs and the fate that awaits them we decided as a group we wanted to do what we could to help them. Starting a rescue was a huge step for us and as we found out it is a long, hard, emotional and sometimes very frustrating process. But we do this for the dogs and we always keep that in our thoughts when things get tough.

After running the rescue successfully for 2 years, we applied for charity status. In October 2015, we became a Scottish Registered Charity SC045602. Our rescue is growing fast and we are thankful for all the help and support we receive from our foresters, adopters, volunteers and the public without this we would not be able to help these dogs the way we do.

We are Not for profit

We are a non-profit organisation that relies completely on donations from adoptions and fundraising events so that we can ensure that any dog we help to save has all it need for a healthy and happy life this includes, vaccinations, neutered, spayed, micro chipped, training, food, bed, lead, collar, rescue ID tag, and that they are treated for any illnesses before they are re-homed. These funds also allow us to save other dogs that are sitting in the pound waiting for help.

We have a board of trustees who oversee the management of the rescue, making sure the rescue runs within the charity's guidelines and manages the finances in the best interests of the charity.

Our committee are responsible for the day to day running of the rescue. They oversee the movement and care of the dogs, promoting responsible dog ownership, arrange fundraising events and much more.

As a team we support each other, this helps us to get through the ups and downs of rescue life. Saving a dog doesn’t just end when we have pulled that dog from a "put to sleep list" This is just the start of long a process but our drive and determination to help these dogs keeps us going. We work together so the rescue can then do what it was set up for, to save the lives of our beloved staffies.

We are all volunteers here

SSR is staffed entirely by unpaid volunteers who like you have jobs and family commitments. They give their free time to help save these abandoned dogs and give them a future.

No one receives salaries or expenses. All fund raised go to helping the dogs.

We now have coordinators covering the Edinburgh/Perthshire/Fife/Dundee/Angus/Aberdeen/Borders area and a few other areas within Scotland.

Our volunteers help the rescue with dog walking, transporting, fundraising, social networking, supporting fosters and new adopters as well as supporting each other.

We are always looking for new volunteers to join us. If like us you can spare a few hrs a month to help the dogs then please contact us.