The HUG AGM took place at the Irish Film Institute in Dublin on March 7th 2015.
HUG homed a total of 108 hounds in2014 of which 27 were adopted within Ireland, our best year for Irish Adoptions so far. It is noticeable that there are a lot more greyhound being kept as pets throughout the country, which is as a result of the positive publicity showing them as companion animals through activities such as shows, organised walks and parades.
Whilst we mainly work with greyhound retired from the racing industry we have also homed a number of greyhound xs/lurchers which were brought to our attention by members of the public.
One of the more memorable hounds we helped in 2014 was Dawn who required surgery to straighten her leg which was at almost a right angle. Despite efforts by our vets to retain the leg by the insertion of metal plates it was ultimately decided that the leg should be amputated. Dawn has made a full recovery and has been adopted by two of our volunteers and is a great ambassador for HUG.
Early in 2014 we purchased our new van and had it kitted out with 9 fixed crates, two storage areas a camera and a thermometer. A preliminary inspection of the van was carried out the local Department of Agriculture vet and advice was received regarding having it licenced as a Type II vehicle.
HUG continued to fundraise and to this end a number of street collections were held in Killarney Tralee, Kenmare and other towns around Kerry. Volunteers ran the Cork Mini Marathon on behalf of HUG.
HUG again attended Pet Expo in Dublin in November which generated a lot of interest in greyhounds as pets. HUG commissioned an Irish artist to design Christmas cards and children’s tee-shirt which were offered for sale at the event and afterwards.
HUG was successful in securing a grant from the Pet Plan Charitable Trust in the UK to the amount of £7,500 (€9,202.65) which was received in the latter part of the year.
HUG was notified that it was chosen to be the Irish Veterinary Nurses Associations Charity for the Year for 2015.
HUG received an ex gratia grant of €2800 from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine