DEEL Sighthound Rescue

11/06/2026

💔 FUNDRAISING APPEAL 💔

We have had the most difficult start to 2026 of any year in our rescue’s ten year history.

January alone brought six successive emergency cases, every one of them requiring major orthopaedic surgery. These were not routine cases. These were dogs whose lives depended on immediate intervention and specialist veterinary care and the emergencies kept coming throughout the next 6 months until now.

At the same time, we were struggling desperately to find foster homes. As a result, our kennel bills soared and many of these patients had prolonged hospital stays because there simply was nowhere suitable for them to go. Kennels were not an option for dogs recovering from major surgery who needed round-the-clock care, medication, rehabilitation and monitoring.

And that was before we even began dealing with the day-to-day costs of rescue. Every dog requires vaccinations, microchipping, worming, feeding, transport and neutering. On top of that, we have public liability insurance, accountancy fees, fuel and maintenance costs to keep our rescue van on the road, and an average monthly kennel bill of approximately €3,500.

Those first few months knocked us to our knees and, truthfully, we have not been able to get back up.

We are acutely aware that people everywhere are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. Asking for help never comes easily. But we have to keep asking because the dogs need us to.

We are a volunteer-run rescue. We have no paid staff. We rely entirely on foster homes, private boarding kennels, fundraising and donations from the public.

If you think you could foster, please get in touch.

If you can donate, no matter how small the amount, we would be incredibly grateful.

If you can do neither, please share this post.

If you would like to run a fundraiser on our behalf, please contact us. If you have a birthday, anniversary or special occasion coming up, please consider running a fundraiser for the dogs on your social media. There are so many ways to help.

📍 OUR CURRENT POSITION

Rockhall Veterinary Hospital, Henry Street: €16,017.96

Adare Veterinary Clinic: €7,535.95

All Paws Veterinary Clinic: €2,811.70

Outstanding Kennel Fees: €3,500.00

😱Total Outstanding Bills: €29,865.61

Current AIB Balance: €150.76

Current PayPal Balance: €148.06

😭Total Funds Available: €298.82

Less than €300 available to meet almost €30,000 in bills.

That is the reality facing us today.

For anyone who would prefer to make a contribution you can do so through our idonate link below 👇🏻 or directly to the clinics below and quote our rescue account DEEL Sighthound Rescue. 🙏🏻

📍 Rockhall Veterinary Hospital, Henry Street
☎️ 061 314 203

Outstanding Balance: €16,017.96

📍 Adare Veterinary Clinic
☎️ 061 396 390

Outstanding Balance: €7,535.95

📍 All Paws Veterinary Clinic, Limerick
☎️ 061 603 800

Outstanding Balance: €2,811.70

Every euro paid directly towards these accounts helps us continue providing life-saving veterinary treatment to dogs in need.

Last year, our rescue received €25,500 through the Department of Agriculture’s Animal Welfare Grant Scheme. This payment was spent the day it hit our account, with outstanding bills. It accounts for one fifth of what we realistically need to run our rescue.

While we are grateful for every cent of support received, the reality is that animal welfare charities across Ireland shared a total of just €6 million between 101 organisations.

At the same time, Greyhound Racing Ireland received €20 million in State funding in 2025 alone.

Think about that for a moment.

€6 million divided between more than one hundred rescues, sanctuaries and welfare organisations trying to rescue, rehabilitate, feed, treat and rehome vulnerable animals.

€20 million allocated to a single industry that kills healthy dogs.

Animal rescues are left attempting the impossible task of cleaning up the fallout from abandonment, neglect, overbreeding and welfare failures with a funding pot that is less than one-third of what is provided to one State-supported industry.

The gap between what grants provide and what it actually costs to save lives is filled by ordinary people — people who donate €5, share a post, foster a dog, organise a raffle, run a fundraiser or simply refuse to look away when an animal needs help.

Every dog we save is only possible because of you.

To everyone who has donated, fostered, transported, fundraised, shared our appeals, offered a bed, bought a raffle ticket or stood beside us when things felt impossible — thank you.

From the bottom of our hearts, and on behalf of every dog whose life has been changed because somebody cared enough to help, thank you. ❤️🐾

If you can donate, please do.

If you can foster, please get in touch.

If you can do neither, please share this appeal far and wide.

Together, we can ensure that when the next emergency call comes, we are still here to answer it.

** please see bills posted in comments below 👇🏻

DEEL Sighthound Rescue

11/06/2026

💙 Danny's Story 💙

When Danny first arrived into the care of Deel Sighthound Rescue from the pound, life had clearly not been kind to him.

He needed extensive veterinary treatment before he was even ready for foster care, and his recovery continued long after he moved into his wonderful foster home. Despite everything he had been through, Danny was always friendly, but trust was another matter. The scars on his face and body told a story we could only guess at.

His foster mammy was completely smitten from the start and describes him simply as "a pure pet."

Danny wanted to be close to his people, but at first he wasn't quite sure how. He'd sit at the far end of the couch with his back turned, keeping a careful distance while still wanting company. During playtime he put on a bit of a tough-guy act too, all barking and grumbling while throwing play bows, as if he wasn't entirely convinced that he was safe enough to let his guard down.

But slowly, something beautiful happened.

The stiffness disappeared. The bravado melted away. The playful wrestling became bouncy, carefree fun. He started moving closer on the couch. Then one day, he rested his head on a lap.

And eventually...

His tail wagged!

It might sound like a small thing, but for Danny it was a huge milestone. His entire foster family were over the moon. After everything he'd been through, seeing him truly relax and feel happiness was incredibly special.

Danny enjoyed adventures with foster brother Oscar, car journeys, beach trips, and learning all about the good things in life. Toys were a mystery at first... he wasn't quite sure what to do with them unless somebody joined in...but he was determined to learn!

Then came the next chapter.

Thanks to our wonderful rescue partners at Norfolk Greyhound Rescue, Danny found his forever home in the UK, where he is thriving alongside his new lurcher friends.

These days, Danny's cheeky personality is shining through. He has discovered that he quite likes getting his own way and isn't afraid to let his humans know exactly what he wants! If he's told "no," he might have a little grumble and stamp his feet before deciding to accept defeat. 🤣

He loves woodland walks, playing ball, digging in the garden with his canine pals, and keeping everyone entertained with his growing list of funny antics. His health continues to improve, his confidence grows every day, and everyone who meets him falls in love with him.

From a frightened boy carrying the weight of his past, to a much-loved family member with a wagging tail, muddy paws, and a cheeky sparkle in his eye. Danny's journey is exactly why rescue matters.

Thank you to his incredible fosters, to Norfolk Greyhound Rescue for helping him find his perfect match, and to everyone who supported him along the way.

We couldn't be happier for you, Danny. ❤️

09/06/2026

Thank you so much to everyone who donated at our church gate collection last weekend in Askeaton €320 was raised, thank you also to our wonderful volunteers who collected on the dogs behalf 🩷

08/06/2026

Please read

A reminder. …… if you lose your dog and it is in the care of our rescue, your call will be dealt with as soon as a volunteer can. That’s right, we said VOLUNTEER.

On Sunday, one of our volunteers dropped everything to help a stray dog and bring to safety, chipped not registered, no ID collar. Same old same old.

After canvassing the local area in an effort to locate an owner the volunteer made arrangements for the dog to stay safely overnight in boarding kennels and to drive the dog there while further enquiries continued. Once an owner was to come forward and proof of ownership was established, we would begin making arrangements for the dog’s return. As is the norm in all rescues.

Our volunteer never complained about the fact they had to spend their whole Sunday evening getting the dog sorted, they just cared that the dog was safe, fed and warm.

We rarely post about situations like this. Usually, we take a deep breath, swallow the frustration, and focus on the animals that need us. But today, this really got to us.

Every person involved in our rescue is a volunteer. We all have full-time jobs, families, and commitments, yet we remain on call for animals in need 24 hours a day to the best of our ability. We don’t get paid. We do this because we love animals and can’t bear to think of them vulnerable and in danger.

To be met with hostility after helping someone’s pet is deeply demoralising. We were sent a voice mail accusing us of cruelty and keeping the dog in a “cage” and threatening to attack our rescue on social media if the dog wasn’t handed back immediately. Ironically, We tried on several occasions to contact the owner via phone and Facebook messenger, to no avail, then the voice message. As the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished. We find it incredulous that stopping to help a lost dog would result in such a thoughtless and unnecessary response.

Thankfully, experiences like this are the exception rather than the rule. The kindness and support we receive from so many of our followers, supporters, adopters and fellow animal lovers is what keeps us going. That, and the dogs, will always be the reason we continue.

08/06/2026

This is extremely worrying... Shanakyle Bawnie’s page on GRI’s website has been deleted😱 We believe he’s the poor white greyhound who’s wearing a cruel anti-bark muzzle in the footage and photos we received from our source. He was the only white greyhound listed as belonging to Shanakyle Syndicate, so we are almost certain that it’s him.

We need your help to find out what happened to him, as we fear the absolute worst. Please share this post🙏, and also email your TDs to ask them to request an immediate update from the Minister for Agriculture on the status of Shanakyle Bawnie. You can find your TDs’ email addresses at https://www.contactyourtd.ie/
Please also email the Minister directly at [email protected] and [email protected]

Please also email the Welfare Manager of Greyhound Racing Ireland (GRI), Barry Coleman: [email protected]

As GRI is a semi-state body, which receives almost 20 million in public funding each year, we have a right to know what has happened to this gentle, sweet-natured dog. Recent figures released by GRI show that two-thirds of racing greyhounds born in 2021 and 2022 are now DEAD (as published in the Irish Examiner and Journal last week). We CANNOT let Shanakyle Bawnie simply disappear and become another horrific statistic – one of the thousands of poor dogs who are killed at a young age EVERY YEAR when they are no longer profitable to the racing industry.

Along with the other greyhounds in the dark shack on the derelict site near Parteen, Shanakyle Bawnie ALMOST had the chance to find a loving home through GRI’s rehoming service, the Irish Retired Greyhound Trust (IRGT). Those of you who have been following the Parteen greyhound case will know that after we released the footage of the shack’s interior, the public pressure we all applied led to the dogs being removed and being placed in an IRGT foster home. We were led to believe that the dogs were being prepared for rehoming, but they were sadly returned to the hell hole over a month later💔

Please keep the pressure on, until we get justice for Shanakyle Bawnie and the other poor dogs owned by Shanakyle Syndicate. Public pressure really works!!💪

07/06/2026

07/06/2026

07/06/2026

Retriever picked up on the Greenway near Rathkeale Bicycle Hub, chipped but not registered. Had been there with 2 other retriever type dogs. The two others were not there when our volunteer responded and was told that they were following people and headed off in the Ardagh direction. There was no sign of them. Apparently they had been there since around 9am this morning.

If these are your dogs please contact our page with proof of ownership. Please share.

07/06/2026

❌❌Almost two-thirds of former racing greyhounds born just four to five years ago are already dead. Let that sink in.❌❌

According to figures released through Parliamentary Questions and reported this week, 5,960 former racing greyhounds born in 2021 and 2022 have died after leaving the racing industry. Of the greyhounds from those years that were no longer racing, remained in Ireland and had not been exported, a staggering 63% were recorded as dead. For dogs born in 2022, the figure rises to an astonishing 74%. These are dogs aged only three-and-a-half to five-and-a-half years old, despite greyhounds typically living 10–14 years.

As Greyhound Action Ireland has pointed out, these figures come directly from the industry’s own traceability system and Parliamentary Question responses. Their spokesperson, Nuala Donlon, said the data demonstrates that “thousands of young dogs are still being killed every year.”

And this is not happening in isolation.

Figures obtained through Parliamentary Questions show that 202 greyhounds died at Irish tracks in 2024, the highest number recorded since Greyhound Racing Ireland began publishing such data. Since 2014, at least 1,396 greyhounds have died or been euthanised following racing injuries.

Greyhound Action Ireland has also highlighted separate Parliamentary Question data showing that 400 greyhounds died while racing during 2024 and 2025, with a further 17 killed during trials.

Yet year after year, taxpayers are expected to bankroll this industry to the tune of almost €20 million annually.

The industry repeatedly tells the public that welfare is its highest priority. But if welfare is the priority, why are thousands of dogs dead before reaching middle age? Why do Parliamentary Questions continue to uncover such shocking mortality figures? Why are so many young greyhounds disappearing from the system through death when they should have many years of life ahead of them?

This headline should shock every animal lover in Ireland. These are not statistics. These were living, breathing dogs who felt fear, pain, excitement and affection. Dogs who should have been enjoying life on a sofa, not becoming another entry in a mortality report before their fifth birthday.

The public deserves answers. The dogs deserved better.

Sources: Parliamentary Question data reported by the Irish Examiner, The Journal, Irish Times and statistics highlighted by Greyhound Action Ireland

07/06/2026

What if people decided they wanted to bet on retrieving trials?
Therefore breed large numbers of golden retrievers and Labrador retrievers, kill the ones that are too slow, sick or won’t retrieve, then keep the others for 23 hours a day in tin sheds only to be killed at under 4 years old when they are no longer making enough money for their owners and syndicates.
Oh that is unless the owners and syndicates choose to trial them in “masters” events.

Would that be ok?
In recent years greyhound racing in Tasmania introduced ‘masters racing’ where old dogs are raced.
Given the dogs are older, their chance of injury or death is 97% (*source Australian Veterinary Association 2015 report)
That’s what the industry calls “loving “ their dogs.