When a recent fire devastated Manchester Dogs Home, Support Adoption for Pets stepped in to help out. Amy Wilson recalls the challenges of coordinating the response.

As fundraisers, we all know how easily one event can turn your day, or your whole week, upside down and everything that you have planned on that ‘to do’ list suddenly pales into insignificance.

On Thursday 11 September, the fire at Manchester Dogs Home, where over 60 dogs perished, propelled the plight of these homeless pets to an unprecedented level as the public rallied round and showed their support.

Although it was 8.30pm when I first heard of the fire, it wasn’t long before the first messages came through to ask if we could help.

I watched the news until the early hours and then went to bed, cuddled up to my own rescue dog Mackie who, oblivious to the event, loved the extra attention as I told her how lucky she was to be in a loving home and not still in the rescue centre where she had previously been a resident.

Help at hand

Walking round the park with her at 6am, preparing for a long day ahead, I was already fielding emails and calls from people asking us what they can do to help and how they could raise money, and offering to collect items for the poor dogs. I also spoke to the directors of Pets at Home, (which established and continues to support our charity), and they were eager to assist us in any way they could, as I knew they would be.

A small team got together and a plan was formed. With emotions running high, the challenge was to ensure we planned a coordinated approach - but we had to act fast. We had 90 minutes until the stores opened. I rang our design agency and called in a favour, asking if they could produce a poster to go next to our tills, so we could make customers aware that they could ‘round up’ their shopping to the nearest pound or make a donation to the Manchester Dogs Home appeal. Every store became a collection point for donated items, and we enlisted the help of the distribution centre in collecting and storing it.

Reports that day stated the M6 was gridlocked with people queuing up to give the rescue centre bedding, food and toys for the dogs in their care, all of which Pets at Home offered to store. Combined with the items donated by the public across all 386 stores, we ended up with more than 350 pallets of items for the dogs home to use.

Overwhelming support

We knew everyone wanted to help; we just didn’t realise how much. In just one week, Pets at Home raised over £98,000 from its customers. Support Adoption For Pets made a pledge of a further £50,000 to help with the redevelopment of the centre, once the home knew what would be needed.

Public donations for Manchester Dogs Home reached over £2m, within just two weeks of the fire. For the rescue centre, the real work has just begun. However, they have more money, food and bedding than they could ever have imagined, which will no doubt put Manchester Dogs Home in an amazing position to begin the rebuilding process, thanks to the efforts of all involved.

It was a very tough week for Support Adoption, but nowhere near as tough as for the team at Manchester Dogs Home. The response was incredible, and we were proud to be able to play a part in helping the rescue centre and the dogs they care for get back on their paws.

Amy Wilson is charitable foundation manager at Support Adoption For Pets