FAQ

Just like most other rescues and charities, Many Tears is funded by donations, legacies, grants and various fundraising events put on by both the rescue and by supporters. Our accounts are done by a professional firm and audited each year as per Charity Commission rules.

We take in dogs from breeders, hunters, pounds, the public and even the police or other authorities with a dog in desperate need.

No, we never pay the breeder/owner of a dog that comes to Many Tears. We are governed by the Charity Commission and our accounts are audited which proves this to be the case. No money changes hands between the rescue and the person giving up the dog. We do not charge them to pick up dogs and nor do they pay us to take them. However we do pay for passports/travel documents and rabies vaccinations for dogs to come to us from breeders in the Republic of Ireland and occasionally help overseas rescues with these costs if we are taking dogs from them.

The number of breeding dogs at commercial kennels are governed by the authorities. Ultimately at all levels (both commercial and non-commercial) the number of dogs being bred is driven by supply and demand. If the demand drops and breeders are left with more dogs than they can sell or are licensed for, they must reduce their numbers.
They have a choice to sell (which they haven’t been able to do), to get rid them by others ways which may not be kind (including shooting them - which is legal) , or to call rescues like us. The same applies to back yard breeders and even members of the public who can dump or discard unwanted dogs. If dogs are not selling and there is a pregnant bitch some may decide the money to raise unwanted pups is not worth it. Also, If a bitch has had to have a C section in the past to give birth and the breed is not selling, they may decide to call us.
We are not here to police licensed breeders or try to regulate casual breeders or even the public, but to help dogs in need. We are known for how we care for our dogs, for spaying and neutering, and doing a careful job rehoming.

We pick up dogs from all over the UK including Northern Ireland and The Irish Republic. The times of arrivals are governed by ferry schedules or the logistics of the pickups. We do not hide anything and our vans are fully licenced to do those pickups and drivers have taken courses to qualify them to do these drives.
The administrative process to bring dogs into the UK is thorough and robust. All dogs from the Republic of Ireland must have passports and all Northern Irish dogs must be fully documented with addresses and breeders’ licences where they are picked up from, or a release form with owners’ names and addresses if they are pet dogs.
All dogs passing through the ferry ports are reported to and inspected by the authorities. We frequently share videos of our trips and the dogs arriving on our social media platforms, detailing their journey to Many Tears.

When we pick up dogs from far afield, we tend to pick up as many as possible in the area at one time due the high cost of collecting them. With the cost of wages for drivers, the wear and tear on vans, the cost of ferries and hotels and of course fuel costs, it makes sense to pick up as many dogs as possible to reduce the number of trips.

Yes, to all of the above - if it’s the right match for our dog. We carefully assess each application to find the best match for our dog. For example if a dog comes in with a history of being around children, then it may a better match than one that has never been with children, or if a dog comes in that has been locked in a kennel its whole life, we want it to go to a home where someone is around most of the day and not where people are out at work.
Some dogs do well as only dogs, however, ex breeders nearly always need an existing dog to help cope. They are insecure and out of their depth which makes it very hard for them to adapt to a new lifestyle, especially one without a canine buddy. Dogs are pack animals, if separated as pups to live in a family they adopt to a pack of people, however if they grow up with other dogs and no real human interaction it’s much harder for them to adjust

Many Tears is a unique rescue as 95% of the dogs we take in are picked up and not delivered to our door. The cost of running the rescue is huge. From keeping licenced, fitted dog vans on the road and driver’s wages, to the kennel and office staff wages, to the vet and vet nurse wages, to the utility bills and cleaning materials; even many other unimaginable things such as skips and waste disposal.
Our staff to dog ratio is high, as so many dogs need extra help as not walking on leads etc. It all quickly adds up.
The adoption fees do not come close to covering all our costs. This means that along with the adoption fees we rely heavily on the generosity of those who see what we do and wish to support our work.

Many Tears are very pro spay/neutering, as it’s our belief that living in our world a dog or bitch has a happier life and of course cannot breed. We believe there are also definite health advantages for dogs to be neutered. If people don’t want to do this, we advise them to adopt elsewhere, though all bar the very young or very obese are neutered before they leave us.

We go to great lengths to collect and take these dogs in and become very invested in their wellbeing, hence we want to see their journey through to the new home. Some breed rescues are happy to refer prospective homes to us, just as we are happy referring people to them but we don’t move the dogs except to approved foster homes or their new adopted home.

Unfortunately, we don't have the enough staff to facilitate a waiting list. If there is a particular breed you are interested in adopting the easiest way in to see if there are any in is to go to our Dogs Looking for Homes page and search for the breed from there. Dogs come in on a daily basis so it's worth checking every day.

Adopting a dog from MTAR is a quick but thorough process. Once you have applied for a dog we try to get back to you as soon as possible but depending on the number of dogs we have in and the number of applications this can sometimes be a few days. If your dog is at the centre once the staff have spoken to you and agreed everything is OK the dog will be reserved and you will be home checked within a couple of days. If your dog is in foster the fosterer will speak to you before the dog can be reserved for you and then a home check is arranged. Once the home vet is done and providing you pass you will be expected to collect your dog within three days. If you are successful with your application, once the dog is reserved for you the next steps happen very quickly and can be a fast as a couple of days to up to a week. It rarely takes longer although there are always exceptions to the rules.