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Can you give a good home to one of our dogs, such as Coll above,
Andy or Brownie (below right)?
'Coll - N° ID 250269500218636, a 2 year old male collie cross
english setter, is a really stunning dog and catches everyones eye.
He is affectionate, intelligent and walks very well on lead. He
is not interested in cats and gets on well with other dogs.
His one and only default is that the collie in him has left him
with a strong urge to chase cars & bikes so he is looking for
someone experienced with dogs, who won't let themselves be dominated
by him... a big garden (fenced) would be ideal.
This BIG, beautiful boy has been at the refuge almost a year and
is desperate to leave. He is cooking in this heat and shares a 4m2
pen with another dog. He has been castrated recently.
The refugehas several kittens that need are crying out for a new
home. If you think you could take one in, please get in touch immediately.
This dog/cat refuge was started up about 20 years ago on communal
land but run and funded by an association - MASAQ, le Mouvement
Associatif de Sauvegarde des Animaux dans le Quercy. The President
is Michelle Decas who ran the refuge voluntarily for 16 years with
the help of various volunteers and it was hard work.
3 years ago the commune was forced by the bodies that oversee the
conditions of large breeders, kennels etc to meet certain responsibilities
and whilst by no means perfect the refuge was given a basic overhaul
with decent kennels, pens, surrounding fencing and certain storage
and reception facilities.
Michelle was even paid for 22 hrs of the 70 or so a week that she
worked and provided with another couple of part timers to help cope
with everything required to care for all the animals (130 odd dogs,
80 or so cats) - cleaning pens, feeding, veterinary visits, collection
of animals, adoption related requirements and all the bureaucracy
etc etc etc.
Minimal funding from the Communauté des Communes pays for
just one day of dry food a week, a donation from a well-known charity
pays for a second and after that the dogs were fed eat meat scraps
cooked up with stale bread which is not the healthiest diet for
any length of time!
As a youngish English couple moving to the Lot Valley region of
France in 2002, once we got to grips with the restoration of our
property and could free up more time we looked for an animal charity
to get involved with and stumbled across the Refuge de Nayrac at
Figeac.
I say stumbled as they certainly didn't publicize their whereabouts
and going back 5 years the refuge was such a mess that they were
very much hidden away, forgotten about and left to their own devices
Having started at the refuge by exercising the most needy dogs
each week we moved on to raising funds which helped towards general
costs, for 16 insulated kennels that go within the dogs shelters
and also for the creation of a website
designed to attract adoptive families and help - financial or other.
Our involvement in all this has reaped rewards in terms of acceptance
and inclusion in the local community, it has helped improve our
French and the very act of helping to care for and rehome these
animals is so satisfying and highly recommended.
The service the refuge provides is such a valuable one. If your
dog wandered off and got lost you would like to think they would
be safely picked up and looked after until you tracked it down.
If your mother died and her pet dog needed a new home you would
like to think there was someone to help you find it. Would you prefer
unwanted litters to be dumped on the roadside or stand a chance
in life? If you need a new companion it is good to know you can
head to a refuge to find one.
We need to increase adoptions further to reduce the number of dogs
held as living 24/7 in a pen is really not a long-term solution
and we have so many gorgeous ones to choose from. Little dogs, big
dogs, young dogs and old dogs - of all shapes and colours! If you
cannot adopt a dog, then you can sponsor one, which will help us
to look after it.
Naturally, we always have a need for cash, so if you cannot adopt
and do not want to get inolved with sponsoring, then a donation
would always be very, very welcome.
Full details of our adoption and sponsorship schemes are on
our website,
where you can also make donations direct through PayPal.
Or you can contact me, Nicci Halton, direct:
By Phone: 05 65 29 20 58 or 06 21 99 61 99
By e-mail: info@les-chiens-de-figeac.com
Refuge Opening hours : 9am to 12.30pm everyday - last visit for
adoptions 11.30am
Afternoons on appointment only due to vet visits, animal collections
etc
The Refuge de Nayrac, run by Le Mouvement Associatif de Sauvegarde
des Animaux dans le Quercy (MASAQ), is on Avenue de Nayrac, 46100
Figeac, just along from the town dechetterie or tip.
To get there find, MacDonalds on the road direction Cahors and
on that roundabout take the exit that leads behind a used car sales
business and is the only exit heading uphill. Take the first right
and then follow the small white signs that point the way to the
'Chenil' - or those for the 'Décheterie' will get you there.
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