Words by Smiley Team
We want to protect animals on the planet, just as much as the people who need it, too.
One charity on a mission to do just that is K-9 Angels, which provides a much-needed link between dog rescues in foreign countries and adopters in the UK – as well as funding for spay and neuter programmes, shelters and medical aid.
Co-founded by Victoria Featherstone Pearce, it is now celebrating ten years of helping dogs all over the world. So where did it all begin?
One night, says Victoria, she and her friends were talking on Facebook and had noticed a post from a lady who was looking for help with a dog who was found in a box in a forest. She was asking for 40 Euros. They decided to help out.
“We were taking a chance and hoping it was a good person,” Victoria tells Smiley News, “and it turns out, it was an amazing rescuer in Romania who didn’t have much money and used to drive out to the countryside to collect dogs – it cost money she didn’t have.”
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Victoria says the woman appreciated the help, but needed to give the dog a home – so Victoria fostered the dog herself. Back in the UK, they named the dog Angel, and put a plea out to see if anyone would adopt her. They managed to pair her with someone in the USA.
“We thought, with the contacts we have – and the fact we’re all animal lovers and vegan – why don’t we start something – so we did,” says Victoria.
The group of friends created K-9 Angels, inspired by the first dog they helped, as a charity that is run solely by volunteers and has a mission is to improve the quality of existence of canine friends from all over the globe as well as educate people about animal welfare.
In their first year, they raised £120,000 to support dogs all over the world. “We built a shelter in Romania, housed 110 dogs, did mass sterlisations, and sent big food parcels to rescuers in need,” says Victoria. “We pay medical bills, too, and paid thousands of pounds on that.”
Victoria herself as seven rescue dogs and she’s a fosterer too. “You never know what’s going to happen, every day is different, there’s always something to do,” she says. They work in a really small team, but all of them feel the charity has given them an amazing purpose in life.
In the past decade, the charity has raised £750,000, rehomed more than 1,200 dogs, sterilised 2,000 dogs, built a shelter, and sent regular financial donations in food and medical supplies.
Their two main goals are to educate and sterilise. “So many lives can be saved by sterilising one dog,” she says.
DONATE: The charity is run entirely by volunteers. Find out how you can support on their website.
SPONSOR A DOG: You can directly support dogs in need by sponsoring one through K-9 Angels. Find out more.
