We are thrilled to be working with the National Foundation for Retired Service Animals (NFRSA) as our first charity partner! The NFRSA, a registered charity (1200949) set up by the Rt. Hon. The Countess Bathurst of Cirencester Park, and former High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, focuses entirely on supporting ex-service dogs and horses from the police, fire, prison and border force services during their retirement.
The Countess discovered during her time in office that once these extraordinary animals reach the age of retirement, without the benefit of a pension, they no longer receive any financial support for their ongoing care, including food, equipment, insurance, veterinary bills and medical treatments. This means the entire financial responsibility for the animal falls to the handler. Due to financial pressure, in many cases the heartbreaking decision to re-home a dog has to be taken, meaning it is removed from all it has known, and the handler’s family left bereft.
The NFRSA assists the animals’ handlers and owners with medical and veterinary responsibilities, thereby alleviating them of the associated financial pressures, meaning these incredible animals can enjoy retirement with the people they know and love.
The NFRSA is a fantastic cause that we feel strongly aligned to given our shared ambition to protect and foster the bond between dogs and their owners. WagWorks exists to enrich the lives of dogs and their owners and we firmly believe that the relationship between the two should be partnerships that are nurtured throughout a dog’s life. Everything we do is designed with this in mind; we are here to share the journey of dog ownership with our members, tailoring our care to individual needs to ensure dogs thrive both at WagWorks and at home. We aim to empower owners and provide them with the tools and resources they need to fully understand their dog, and by doing this, we believe we can unlock a deeper, more meaningful human-dog partnership.
We deeply admire the important work that the NFRSA does to protect retired service animals as part of their human families. The relationship between a handler and their working four-legged partner is second to none, and it is devastating to think that the pair may be broken up due to financial pressure, which would cause great distress for the handlers, their families, and of course the animals themselves. We are so pleased to be supporting the NFRSA in ensuring these wonderful animals stay where they belong, with the families they love, in their twilight years after devoting most of their lives to keeping us, the public, safe.
“Having spent so much time with our faithful and loyal working dogs and horses who, on a frighteningly regular basis, place their lives on the line to keep us safe, and then learning about the predicament they face in their old age, it was a completely natural reaction to want to help. Our dogs and horses have given the majority of their lives in the service of our communities across the country and in their twilight years, I could not believe more that we should be returning the favour. I hope we can all find it in our hearts to ‘Protect Our Protectors’ and support the NFRSA so we can be there for them, just like they have for us, when they need us the most.“