Op-Ed: A blaze at a Manchester Dogs' Home in Moss Brook Road in Harpurhey on Thursday evening has claimed the lives of more than 60 dogs. Although around 150 dogs were rescued the death toll is expected to rise. Police have arrested a 15-year-old boy on suspicion of arson. A JustGiving online account which was quickly set up by the Manchester Evening News has received numerous donations. Obviously more money will be needed though to help the animals and staff plus rebuild the shelter. Interim care for the animals that survived plus veterinary bills will be a priority. For now the dogs that survived are being housed at Cheshire Dogs' Home, a sister site. As news of the fire spread people began quickly donating, tweeting and offering help. Throughout the night and early hours of the morning people were turning up at the scene of the blaze asking what they could do to help. Local people were obviously very upset with events. Some people brought blankets and other items. Whatever the reason for the arson attack, assuming there was even a misguided or insane one, a huge amount of suffering followed. Firefighters did their very best to control the fire and help rescue trapped dogs. They once again proved what an invaluable service they provide. If the 15-year-old boy is charged with arson he will likely not be named nor face a tough sentence due to his age. BBC News reports: A statement posted on Manchester and Cheshire Dogs' Home's Facebook page said: "The staff and volunteers at Manchester & Cheshire Dogs Home worked tirelessly through the evening to get as many dogs as possible to safety. MANCHESTER & CHESHIRE DOGS HOMES- It was established in 1893 to help the stray and unwanted dogs roaming the streets of Manchester. Later covering parts of Lancashire, Cheshire and Derbyshire, today it remains the only Home of its kind, caring for over 7000 dogs each year. Over 95% of dogs are Homed or re-Homed.
The Just Giving donation page is now closed. The page was set up Thursday but at time of writing donations stood at £535,942.77 raised of a £5,000.00 target from 54,431 donations. At least that makes me proud to be British. Kudos.
2 Comments
Elke Winkler
9/12/2014 12:44:13 am
with 15 years he is old enough to understand what he is doing ! He should be punished for this! Very sad and it really makes angry...
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eileen
9/12/2014 01:34:21 am
Yes it does me too Elke. One thing though I am proud of is all the people who ran to try to help. The firefighters praised them while saying they took great risks. Local people tried to help rescue the animals as they could hear their terrible howls and cries.
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