Lucinda O'Sullivan's Ireland

"The whole concept here is that we are a one-stop shop. So if you adopt an animal from us, we like if you buy his food from us; if you are going on holiday, we can board the animal for you; if you need affordable veterinary care afterwards we are here, if you want your animal groomed, we have a thing called Doggy Day Care which when you see it, you will roar laughing."

He was right, I did, it was a pure joy.

"If you are going shopping for the day, you can take your dog into Doggy Day Care where the staff are all qualified dog trainers. There is agility equipment, and they also get down time on special beds. Because of where we are located, near Microsoft and the Sandyford Industrial Estate, people drop their dog off here at 7am and collect up to 8pm. It is €15 a day and they are fed but some people bring their own food as the dog may be on a particular diet.

"We can have 30 dogs a day, they all play together, they are trained, the dogs love it. They rush straight in to meet their pals, they are socialised and because the dog is happy, the owner is happy. If something happens and you have to fly off somewhere, you ring us and if we have a bed for the night, the dog can board here.

"It is about having fun with animals. All our events are geared towards the family and to understand that it is great to have an animal in your house. Don't buy online, come here, we have a huge selection, including many pedigree dogs," he said.

All of these extra commercial services provide very necessary funds for the charitable end of the DSPCA.

With that, a beautiful big muscular Doberman passed by with a gleaming coat.

"We shut down a puppy farm just before Christmas where someone was breeding big dogs, Rottweilers, Dobermans, St Bernards. A certain group of people want to have them as pets. This person had fitted out his kennels very well but they were made of timber which unfortunately can't be properly cleaned.

"He knew nothing also about breeding dogs and, whilst medically he was looking after them, he couldn't feed them. Consequently we ended up with the dogs including a St Bernard which was 20kg to 25kg under weight when we got him.

"These big dogs will be very difficult to home because they are so expensive to feed. So, that has been a feature of this Christmas. Also, since New Year, it has been a daily occurrence where we are getting puppies dumped on the side of the road.

"Another problem was that somebody on the street begging with a puppy is going to do better than someone without one. When it comes to December 25, the poor old puppy has served its purpose, so we have had a couple from that kind of quarter."

It was suspected that one puppy was taken out of a family's front garden, taken around Dublin and used for begging purposes and then dumped just after Christmas.

"The puppy dumping is going on but it's not the big deluge that people think it is, that tends to happen from February or March when people have had him in the house for a couple of months. The dog is chewing the sofa, he's peed on the carpet, he's expensive, we're thinking of going on our holidays, that's when the puppies are turned out.

"When it comes to cats, it's more when the weather gets warm and we will rehome about 1,000 cats here this year. We take in the kittens, microchip, neuter and vaccinate them and then we put them back out in society. We had a great success this Christmas when we put a big emphasis on asking people to foster an animal for Christmas to give the animals a break from here and to give the staff a break as well.

"We put out something like 150 to 200 animals. It was fantastically successful. Some are staying with their foster carers so we are thrilled."

I, of course, wanted to come home with every animal in the place including all three gorgeous, elegant, beautifully coloured Lurchers aged 12 weeks named after the Love/Hate characters Fran, Tommy and Nidge, who, at the time of writing, have been reserved. But there are so many fabulous dogs and cats there of all ages, sizes and temperaments, wanting to come home with you.

An animal gives you such total devotion, love and company, it is almost unbelievable. Also too, if you foster an animal, you will be provided with the food during its stay. Purina Pet Foods sponsors this, as indeed it sponsors all the food for the animals in the shelter.

The DSPCA has a wonderful network of helpers. "We have people who are retired, long-term unemployed people, we have various programmes that we work with," said Brian. It also has a work experience scheme, the places for which are reserved for students who are already junior members of the DSPCA -- which you can apply for online -- and membership of which makes a great present. It costs €25 yearly to join the Happy Tails Club for ages five to 12 years and the Animal Lovers Club for ages 13 to 17 years.

"Where there is animal crime, there is usually human crime too. We work very closely with the gardai. We see too that if a kid has no empathy with an animal, that child is certainly going to have problems relating to human beings. It's that simple, there are loads of studies on that.

"We have an education department and six ladies who speak in schools and to community groups about animal welfare and caring for animals. We have a base also over in St Anne's Park in Raheny where people come for information," said Brian.

With that, 'Brad' and 'Angelina', two magnificent gentle rescued St Bernard dogs, passed by -- what wonderful pets they would be for someone with space: "Some 30 to 40 per cent of the animals are pedigree dogs, which is a sign of the times."

When an animal arrives at the DSPCA, the first thing that happens is that it gets assessed in an isolation area. Once they have been assessed and are disease-free, they are moved on to their new temporary abodes in spacious kennels, all of which had Christmas stockings on their doors.

Next we visited the horses, one of which had foaled since she arrived in Rathfarnham. The Fire Brigade from Dolphin's Barn helped them rescue her from the canal. Indeed a beautiful big sheep had also been rescued from a canal.

"Every day is a good day here. It's easy getting up in the mornings. You are making a difference."

We passed a pot-bellied pig, a 21st birthday present, who is going to live out his days in Rathfarnham. Next up was a whole kennel full of rabbits -- males in one section, females in another. "The record last year was 64 rabbits in one house -- a guy was breeding them and lost control!"

Then came Nicola, a lovely donkey found in Blanchardstown. Pigs, hens, ducks, horses, donkeys, cats, dogs, goats, rabbits. . . all are here.

I also got to see the purpose-built dog bath and a couple of the 'clients' standing proudly in the beauty salon being trimmed and blow dried, and loving every bit of it. The profits from the extra facilities go back into the charitable end of the DSPCA. It has around 20 people working there which is also an important factor. Another vital element of the DSPCA's fundraising are bequests from animal lovers and to whom there is a dedicated wall with plaques commemorating the donors.

Visit the DSPCA, have a coffee, meet the people, meet the animals. It's a happy place and it will do your heart good. There are lots of ways that you can help with the great work they do. Oh, and Brian asks you to remember to get your pet vaccinated this year.

www.dspca.ie

FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE SUNDAY INDEPENDENT