Karen Fairclough's Until Every Dog Has A Home kennels wins UK Animal Rescue/Rehoming Centre of the Year Animal Star Award

A dog rescue sanctuary founded by a former Forres Academy student has been recognised for its work with a national award.

Until Every Dog Has A Home won the UK Animal Rescue/Rehoming Centre of the Year accolade at the Animal Star Awards.

The event celebrates animals and humans that have done extraordinary things for one another and also raised funds for animal charities.

Until Every Dog Has A Home is based on a farm close to Turriff and was founded by behavioural dog trainer Karen Fairclough.

She said: “We’re a small volunteer run, non-profit dog rescue. We’re a little different because we only intake dogs with severe behavioural issues.

“We specialise in working with dogs with aggressive tendencies and dog on human bite histories. There are very few rescues in the UK who can accept a dog who has previously bitten a human. We offer rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing. For those who are too troubled and don’t manage to complete rehab and pass the necessary assessments, we offer lifetime sanctuary here.”

Until Every Dog Has A Home is a small organisation run by Karen and one other person.

She added: “There’s myself and the trainer for all the dogs. The dogs under our care are undergoing rehabilation or awaiting rehoming.”

The rescue sanctuary has purpose built, standalone kennels for each of the dogs, a secure training and exercise area, bigger yards and permission to access the surrounding fields. The kennels are all heated, secure and have CCTV so that the dogs can be monitored at all times.

Karen was raised in Forres, attended Pilmuir Primary School and lived and worked in the town until she moved to the farm five years ago.

She said: “We make the dogs a part of our family for as long as they’re with us. They have daily walks and training, and they take it in turns to come out for day trips. We try and make their stay as fulfilling and ‘normal’ as possible. All the dogs which have come to us have done so because they require professional handling and rehabilitation. Some dogs come to us as the owner felt out of their depth or unable to cope. Others come to us from other rescues who don’t feel that they could provide the dog with what they need, either by way of accommodation, handling, training or because the dog is simply too dangerous to put into a foster home or a public access kennel environment.”

For more information on the sanctuary visit www.untileverydoghasahome.com or its Facebook page www.facebook.com/UntilEveryDogHasAHome