How a Dog called Ned saved Thousands of Lives

The story of how a dog called Ned helped to save thousands of lives is brought to life in an emotional video, released today by Forever Frie...

The story of how a dog called Ned helped to save thousands of lives is brought to life in an emotional video, released today by Forever Friends Animal Rescue (FFAR) to celebrate the charity’s eighth birthday on Thursday, 14 February 2019.

“Ned is special for so many reasons,” explains Saskia Adams, co-founder and President of FFAR. “He was my first foster animal and dispelled the myth that rescue pets are somehow damaged goods.

“Through no fault of his own, Ned found himself on death-row in a country pound. I took him in and it quickly became clear to me that Ned was a gentle soul who just wanted to be loved.

“This is when I realised that there must be hundreds, if not thousands of animals just like Ned, facing death in our pound and shelter system every day, who the public doesn’t know about. I knew from that moment that I had to help more animals like him.”

Saskia and a small group of dedicated animal lovers joined forces, and in 2011, FFAR was born in her living room. Over the past eight years, FFAR has grown from this small group to over 900 active volunteers. The charity has since saved the lives of over 6,500 animals, from dogs, to cats, to horses and guinea pigs.

“Rescue animals often find themselves in pounds or shelters because their owners are sick or have passed away, have moved and been left behind, or a relationship has ended. The fact is, there is a home for every rescue pet – they don’t need to die in their tens of thousands,” Saskia said.

“We don’t operate a shelter. We place our rescue animals in the loving homes of our volunteers, where they receive medical and behavioural rehabilitation if required, and importantly, the time to heal. We often see cases of horrendous abuse and neglect.”

While FFAR has saved thousands of lives, there is still more to be done. The organisation is currently raising much-needed funds to turn a 100-acre farm in the Yarra Valley, Victoria into an animal rehabilitation sanctuary that can house up to 10 dogs and 20 cats/kittens at any one time, as well as farm animals in need.

“Not a day goes by that FFAR doesn’t receive urgent requests to help animals on death-row. Often, we only have a few short hours to save an animal’s life. If we can build this sanctuary,

We’d have emergency accommodation for the most vulnerable, at-need animals, meaning we could save many more lives,” Saskia said.

“We have so far raised $91,000 and need another $89,000 to make this dream come true.”

Ned’s heart-warming story can be seen in this video ...

You can help FFAR build its animal sanctuary by donating to its Chuffed Campaign www.chuffed.org/project/help-build-to-save

MEDIA RELEASE, 12th February 2019