The ISPCA invited Chanelle Pharma to the National Animal Centre on Friday, July 18 to see first-hand the work they do, and acknowledge the national flea and worm awareness campaign, as well as the importance of volunteering at the Centre.
Calling the partnership of a corporate and charity together as ‘marvellous’, the day gave the opportunity for Chanelle Pharma staff to participate in some tasks around the Centre, such as dog-walking and deep cleaning rabbit hutches.
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The beginning of the day had a presentation by Cillian, who runs the Longford Centre. The presentation was an overview of the work done by the ISPCA.
He explained that over 1,500 animals are helped annually. In 2024, 2,741 complaints were made to the Helpline, as well as 37 convictions by ISPCA Inspectors in the same year.
As Cillian said: “Our Inspectors would prefer to check something out and find it to be nothing than not to check.”
The presentation celebrated the presence of the Animal Care Assistants, who are considered the core of the animal centre. Cillian described them as “everyday heroes” for doing all the early morning feeds to late check-ins, as well as all the jobs in-between.
It also gave some backstory to the ISPCA, how it started in 1949, with the National Animal Centre founded in 2002. The four centres are Longford, Mallow, Wicklow and Donegal, with the motto of: Rescue, Rehabilitation and Responsible Rehoming.
Carmel Murray, who manages digital marketing for the ISPCA, explained what happens when animals arrive at the Centre from their Inspectors.
“Animals first go into our isolation area first where they are accessed and checked for health issues and treated for any injuries by the vet. They are vaccinated, neutered, microchipped and treated for parasites.
There is strict barrier nursing in our isolation areas to contain any concerns such as mange, so these areas are restricted, and staff wear PPE so there is no cross contamination.
We regularly admit animals suffering from parasite infestation, which is easily preventable by regularly treating animals for worms and fleas etc. Once the animals get the all-clear, they then into the main area as they go through their rehabilitation journey in preparation for rehoming.”
Cillian also showed the dogs in a round enclosed sand arena, which is in a field opposite the kennels. Cillian, whose expertise is also in dog behaviour, explained how this is a great facility and can be used if it is rainy, but we can let the dogs play off lead; and this is great for a meet and greet for prospective dog adopters who want to see if their current dog is compatible with them. Cillian did a training and dog behaviour demonstration for the Chanelle team, which was warmly received.
Russell Good from Chanelle Pharma commented:
“We’re very grateful first and foremost. I think the ISPCA’s mission is to be surrounded by animal health and to be the gatekeepers of animal health in Ireland.
Likewise, Chanelle Pharma’s mission is to enhance the lives of animals worldwide and we export a lot as well. We manufacture. That’s our business model. We’re the largest manufacturer of generic medicines for the animal health industry in Ireland.”
Having offices in Jordan and Portugal as well, Chanelle Pharma donated a cheque in the amount of €23, 549 to the ISPCA, which was received with a group photo outside the main house.
This initiative, in partnership with Chanelle Pharma, aimed to highlight the importance of regular flea and worm treatments for pets. Every Fleaway Plus that was purchased led to 50c being given to the ISPCA, which led to this successful campaign result.
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If you are considering expanding your pet family, get in touch with the ISPCA by email at rehoming@ispca.ie and call 043 33 25035 if you are interested in becoming an ISPCA Volunteer. For more information visit www.ispca.ie
