Buddy Recovering After Cruel Beating

SET deep among the foothills of Ballykeel, a stones throw from Tyrella, lies a very ordinary little dog home, with a rather extraordinary 'tail', writes Anne O'Hare.

Corran Kennels, like any other, welcomes all waifs and strays regardless of class or breed. And this week, one of those unwanteds was Buddy, a four year old American Bull Dog.

Helen Marks, Manager of the Rehoming Centre for over nine years, began to tell me the story of Buddy, a once very beautiful American Bull Dog. She said: “The dog warden picked up Buddy a few days ago and brought him here. He had been neglected by his owners and looks to have been beaten.

Lynne is a Helper at Corran Kennels and is pictured here with four year old Buddy.

“He is terribly emaciated and skin hangs where muscle should be. We have to feed him up slowly.” Hearing Helen's disturbing prelude still didn't prepare me for what I was about to see. It was to become for me one of those defining moments in life when you question human sanity.

Buddy can't sit down from the sores on his behind and he appeared listless and shook with fear. It was evident he suffered a great deal of trauma in recent months.

And then the penny dropped. Given the marked increase in illegal dog fighting rings in Northern Ireland, it certainly raises the probability that Buddy was being prepared as a victim for this savage arena.

Buddy was abused and neglected

Helen continued: “What makes this hard for us, Buddy has an extremely beautiful temperament. Even the vets who treated him before he arrived with us, fell in love with him and found it hard.

“We have not been not been able to trace his owners after making lengthy inquiries. I firmly believe this poor dog will come good. When we feed Buddy up and care for him well, within six weeks or so we'll find a new home for him. This is why I do what I do. If it wasn't for the high number of success stories, I wouldn't be here.”

The Council state last year the pound took in 603 stray and unwanted dogs, 450 were rehomed and 153 dogs were destroyed. A percentage of these dogs had a history of biting children or worrying sheep. Contrary to previous trends, Corran Kennels report January as being a quieter month than it used to be.

However, over the last three years, December has become the busiest month for finding stray and unwanted dogs. Helen explains the pound takes in unwanted dogs from as far as Groomsport in North Down to Kilcoo in South Down. They can also boast of being able to re-home more dogs than any other council maintained dog home in Northern Ireland.

The dogs available at Corran Kennels are posted on to their website which attracts upwards of 350 hits each day. And it's not long before an unwanted dog is welcomed into the arms of a loving family. Visit the website Corran Kennels Rehoming Centre or telephone 07909923760 if you think you can give one of these dogs a good home.