Our charity of the month: K9 Crusaders
For October’s monthly charity quiz, we will be joined by local charity, K9 Crusaders Dog Welfare, for an extra special doggo edition.
This Sunday 23rd October, quiz goers will be encouraged to bring along their own four-legged friends for the special quiz which will be decidedly dedicated to doggos.
As our charity of the month, all proceeds from the quiz will go towards the amazing work that K9 Crusaders does to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome dogs in Cornwall
So we thought we’d give an introduction to K9 Crusaders and shine a spotlight on the incredible work that they do.
Who are K9 Crusaders?
K9 crusaders are a Cornwall-based rescue, rehoming and rehabilitation centre based in Bissoe, West Cornwall.
Their dedicated team deals with all kinds of issues relating to dogs, from rescue and rehoming, to behavioural support and advice on many aspects of dog husbandry. They even go out into the community giving talks on dog welfare to youth groups, seniors clubs, Cub Scouts and in schools and colleges.
It doesn’t stop at helping dogs either – K9 crusaders offer work placements to college students, work with young offenders, back to work schemes and people with additional needs.
Some of the doggos currently available for adoption.
From the beginning
It all began when founder, Sue Smith, began publishing a newsletter educating people about dog welfare. The dedicated dog lover soon found that members of the public were contacting her to ask for help on getting their dogs rehomed. Whilst at first she helped to signpost people to rescue organisations and shelters, she soon discovered that many were full and, sadly, many dogs had nowhere to go.
Sue got to work building a network of foster homes and paying for places in boarding kennels, with some kennels offering discounted or even free spaces where they could. Determined to rescue as many dogs as possible, she put all her efforts into fundraising – producing leaflets and posters, and running events such as dog shows and fayres to raise money for kennel spaces to meet the demand.
Fortunately, that all changed thanks to a legacy from a supporter which allowed the charity to buy the facilities at the site at Bissoe which now houses up to 60 dogs at any one time.
This could not have come at a better time as the charity says that the number of dogs needing rehoming has “gone through the roof” in the last few years.
The future
Thanks to a grant, the charity currently has a new project underway to create a secure public space for people to exercise their dogs in safety. This will give dogs who cannot be off-lead in public a space to run freely and make an ideal training area for the rescue dogs at the centre, increasing their potential to be rehomed.
Other future plans include a ‘Home from Home’ suite for people with mobility issues to come and spend time with dogs, creating a ‘Paws for Nature’ dog walk, and building an all weather facility to host events.
As an independent charity, K9 Crusaders rely solely on donations to survive. You can support them by coming along to The Working Boat quiz this Sunday which starts at 7.30pm.
