The owner of An Cat Dubh animal sanctuary at Cloonlaheen, who was snowbound for six days and urgently needed supplies for her animals, has said she is most grateful to Ennistymon Gardaí for coming to her rescue yesterday.
Stranded at her home and animal sanctuary since Saturday, Dr Rhona Lucas made an appeal via Facebook yesterday morning saying they had run out of cat litter for the 20 litter trays they use daily for their 160 cats.
They were also running out of food for themselves like bread, vegetables and perishables. At the time, she was looking for someone with a tractor who could come to their rescue and help clear the snow.
To further complicate matters, the 82 year-old woman had heart surgery just 18 months ago now, and now has a pacemaker fitted. Nonetheless, she managed to clear enough snow to allow the main gate to open enabling access to their driveway.
But help was on its way coming early that afternoon in the form of two Gardaí from Ennistymon Garda Station, Garda Yvonne Brady and Garda Michael Haugh who delivered the supplies to Rhona. Clare Garda Síochána later said they were “ more than happy to help” re-assuring the public they are always here to help
“We have our own microclimate here around The Hand area, and there was heavy snowfall [on Wednesday night] and so we were still stuck in. Two young guards came to my help,” she said.
“The Gardaí went out to Connolly and picked up my shopping list including about ten bags of wood pellets [to use as cat litter]. They came all the way in with the cat litter and put it into the shed and then brought more into the house, bless them.
“The litter comes into the house because the cats live where they want to live, and it is cold so they use a tunnel through the walls that we have so that they can access the house. And now there is nice clean litter right here for them, and the rest of the litter is in the sheds which are heated night and day.”
Rhona explained she doesn’t purchase specific cat litter because the cost is prohibitive at €20 for a 10kg bag, but instead buys wood pellets at a fraction of the cost.
McGraths shop in Connolly sell these and this is what she specifically required when she ran precariously short after the heavy snowfall confined her to base since Saturday of last weekend.
At Cat Dubh is located on the Doolough Road which is off the R474 between Inagh and Miltown Malbay, an area which has badly affected with heavy snow, treacherous roads, and hazardous driving conditions for almost a week now.
At first, the pensioner was reluctant to call the Gardaí as she expected they would probably be dealing with so many emergencies however, a trustee of the shelter noticed her plea and rang the Gardaí on her behalf. Rhona said she was relieved when they said the amount of emergencies had eased off later in the week as the thaw had come into other areas of the locality.
“We are half way down a hill but the jeep the police were using got down the hill, and they managed to get up it again which was my main concern. Our problem was also with our gate – there is a huge one at the entrance to the sanctuary – and until we have a thaw we cannot open the gate. And as I was only able to clear the length of the gate to allow a person through, but they got through.”
Rhona established the sanctuary ten years ago purchasing the house and out-buildings which were in a “raw state” at the time.
“I have been adding and extending the facility for the animals ever since. There are huge needs. We live beside a forest and over the years many animal have been abandoned in the forest…I am fortunate in that I have a huge amount of flexibility with barns and heated sheds,” she explained.
With about 160 cats in the sanctuary, she also accommodates some dogs and donkeys, and works with other sanctuaries like Hill Top Rescue in Scariff and My Lovely Horse Rescue because she believes they can achieve so much more by working together.
An Cat Dubh promotes kindness, care and understanding of cats and other animals providing sanctuary and lifelong care to those cats needing special care or attention due to age or infirmity. “They are both loved and wanted,” Rhona said emphasising there are no unloved or unwanted animals in her sanctuary and they will be re-homed once their health returns.
Sharon Dolan D’Arcy covers West Clare news. After completing a masters in journalism at University of Galway, Sharon worked as a court reporter at the Sligo Weekender. She was also editor of the Athenry News and Views.