Dog rescuer sets up new shop in Nairn to raise funds for Save The Dogz group to help rehome dogs from Spain in Scotland and overseas
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A Nairn dog lover has set up a second-hand shop in the town to help fund rehoming of pooches here and overseas.
Jenn Johnson has rescued more than 2000 dogs which faced death in killing centres on the Spanish mainland over the past eight years.
But she also helps find new homes for dogs in Scotland.
Jenn (52) has enlisted the support of family and friends to support her not-for-profit business with the opening of a shop for her group Save The Dogz in the town’s High Street.
“I’ve been overwhelmed by the response for donations since posting online about the project,” she said.
“I’ve got another helper, Sarah Lynk, to run the shop with me. There are many dog lovers in Nairn and many of them are coming forward with donations which will go directly to rehoming these dogs from Spain.”
Killing centres operate throughout the country with operators paid by the government for every animal they take off the streets and destroy.
Jenn, through her website, pairs people wanting a rescue dog with their soon-to-be pet and arranges for them to be taken off death row and put into foster homes in Spain where they can be cared for and receive any necessary veterinary treatment before collection.
She has also brought some dogs from Spain to the UK where they are given loving homes.
Jenn recently re-homed a German shepherd from Elgin to Paisley and a bulldog from Inverness to a new foster home in Banff until a permanent home can be found for it.
But most of her work is focused on the dogs from Spain.
“Particularly vulnerable are the galgos, an ancient breed of Spanish hunting dogs similar to greyhounds,” she said.
“Thousands of them are killed every year in the killing centres or simply abandoned. They are brutally treated. I have one myself and its tail was actually skinned and had multiple injuries.
“But there are many different breeds facing a similar fate if they are rounded up and taken to the killing centres.
“I do what I can and have been transporting 20 home to Scotland on each trip.
“I have to pay a fee of between 50 to 150 euros to the centre I’m removing them from and it costs a further £350 per dog transporting them from Spain in my van.
“The purpose of the shop is to meet costs, not for transportation and releasing the dogs from these killing centres, but to ensure they are fed, fostered and treated for injuries and vaccinated before we pass them on to their new owners.”
Jenn, who is a mother-of-seven, said she first heard about the scale of the problem in 2014 through the work of an ex-pat working with a charity saving dogs in Spain.
Her late father, Roddy Robb, was a former Metropolitan police officer who formed a boxing club in Nairn in the 1980s.
Jenn has five rescue dogs of her owen and her mother Maureen (83) has one.
She said she has an ‘understanding’ husband who enables her to pursue her passion.
“Although I’ve been doing it for several years I’ve never asked for help,” she said. “But hopefully with an income from the shop we can do more.
“I think I’ve rescued about 2000 since I started.
“It’s exhausting because I suffer from fibromyalgia and each journey takes up to eight days.
“But it is something I am passionate about.
“We are giving these dogs a life. The conditions they are being kept in at these centres before they are euthanised is appalling. It’s very rewarding to see them when they recover and you know they have a future with people who will care for them.”
Best rescue centres and shelters across the Highlands
