Northern Ireland Staffordshire Bull Terrier Rescue (NISBTR) was established August 2012 in response to the ever-increasing number of unwanted, abandoned, neglected and abused Staffordshire Bull Terriers (SBT) in need of assistance and re-homing.
NISBTR is a registered charity (Charity Registration Number NIC101909) and is run by a small group of dedicated people. Everyone at NISBTR is involved in Stafford rescue because of their passion for the breed and their desire to make a difference for those dogs less fortunate than their own.
NISBTR has three main aims:
- To rescue, rehabilitate and rehome unwanted, abandoned, neglected and abused Staffordshire Bull Terriers.
- To raise awareness of the plight of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, in particular the relentless, unnecessary and irresponsible over-breeding of them, and to redress the balance of uneducated negativity toward the breed.
- To actively encourage responsible dog ownership.
Sadly, the plight of SBT’s is not a new phenomena and is reflected throughout the UK. Rescues have been working tirelessly and beyond crisis levels for decades and despite their efforts the problem has only gotten worse, not better. Whilst there are some all breed rescues and sanctuaries that do help Staffordshire Bull Terriers, there are many that do not. Prior to the establishment of NISBTR there was no breed specific rescue for SBT in the whole of Northern Ireland and ROI and, to date, we remain the only one, making our rescue work even more important and in demand.
The dogs that come into our care come from three main sources:
- Council dog pounds (including welfare cases)
- Other all breed rescues
- Surrenders from owners under exceptional circumstances
All the money used to run NISBTR has been raised and/or donated by our dedicated supporters without whose help we simply could not survive. Our rescue dogs receive the very best in health care. If they are not already, all the dogs are neutered/spayed, fully vaccinated and micro-chipped (in accordance with NI law). Any immediate and subsequent medical attention is also provided. The dogs are placed on healthy and balanced diets and whenever necessary are given specialist dietary food. All of this costs money, so we work very hard in a variety of ways to fundraise.
Our rescue work is very much aimed at the rehabiliation that many of our dogs need before they become available for adoption. We work with each individual dog for however long it takes to help them with issues ranging from separation anxiety, fear, and lead training to poor manners, socialisation and lack of confidence.
