SPCA recognises volunteers’ work

SOME of the county’s most dedicated animal lovers have been rewarded for their tireless work for Clare Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

At a recent ceremony at the Old Ground Hotel, chairperson of Clare SPCA Frankie Coote and Ennis vet Owen O’Connor were among the recipients of awards for their good work with the society.
Frankie is well known for his work with the county’s animals, having become chairperson of Clare SPCA 10 years ago, as well as his work as county dog warden. Owen, who works at Summerhill Veterinary Centre, has in recent years helped with many of the animal cruelty cases that come before Clare SPCA. In fact, he has been complimented by several court judges for his work in dealing with these cases, including a high-profile circuit court case of horse cruelty two years ago.
Speaking after the awards, Owen said he was surprised and delighted with the recognition. “I didn’t expect it at all, I am delighted to receive the award and I hope to continue to give good service to the Clare SPCA.”
His fellow award winner, Frankie had nothing but high praise for Owen. Explaining why Owen was chosen for the award, Frankie said, “In all the cruelty cases I deal with and all of the injured animals, Owen is always available. He will come out to us any time, it doesn’t matter day or night. If it’s four o’clock in the morning, he will come out and the care and attention that he shows is fantastic.
“He will even come out to jurisdictions far away. Myself or someone else from Clare SPCA will ring him and it doesn’t matter if we are in Galway or somewhere else, he will come up to help us.”
He added that the Summerhill Veterinary Centre has never charged Clare SPCA for their services.
“PJ O’Driscoll has sponsored Clare SPCA since 1986 and we’ve never been sent a bill. I remember one Christmas we sent in €1,000 and they sent a donation to us of €1,500. Over an eight-year period of working with Owen, I maintain we owe him about €30,000 at this stage but we’ve never had a bill.
“Some of the bills that societies receive can cripple them. We’re running on €20,000 a year here between grants and donations and that soon goes. But it’s huge credit to PJ and the other vets there that we’ve never been charged. It’s a huge boost to us.”
He added, “I would say from my experience working all over Ireland that all the vets in Clare are very helpful to us and very dedicated”.
When asked about his own award, Frankie said, “I surprised Owen with his and then I was surprised myself with an award for my own work from the society. All my family, my grandchildren, everyone was there and I was wondering what was going on. It was lovely.
“People don’t realise that while I get paid as a dog warden, all of the work I do with bigger animals and the court cases is all done on a voluntary basis. I personally believe you can’t work with the ISPCA and pass any animal in distress,” he said.
His award was presented to him by Mayor of Ennis Michael Guilfoyle, who described Frankie as a man who “never let us down”.
Frankie had nothing but praise for other members of the society, including secretary Caroline Lillis, who has been with Clare SPCA since its formation in 1978.
Also receiving awards on the night were volunteers Melissa Timms Chandler and Aisha Spruce, who have been with the society since they volunteered while in school.
“We have wonderful volunteers here and we’re all a team. We have little pockets of people all over the county who help us,” said Frankie.
He also paid tribute to members of the gardaí for their support. “We have a very close relationship with the gardaí. We do an amount of work with them. We feel there isn’t enough acknowledgment of the work they do in animal welfare. We can’t work without them and everything we do they are behind us and with us,” he concluded.