Named as winners of Re-Turn's 'Small Town, Big Difference' campaign, MADRA celebrated its win last week with the help of social media stars, Tadgh and Derry Fleming.
Recognised for its work with dogs and its participation in the Deposit Return Scheme, MADRA is just one of 10 successful participants chosen from 340 entries to the Small Town, Big Difference campaign, receiving €2,000 to support the initiative.
To help the team celebrate this truly momentous achievement, social media stars Tadgh and Derry Fleming visited the shelter and charity shop in Moycullen. Having risen to fame with a viral video of Derry trying to remove a bat from the family's kitchen, the pair are eager to use their celebrity status to give back and support local Irish communities.
Speaking with The Galway Advertiser, Tadgh and Derry praised MADRA for their work and the compassion its employees show to the dogs in their care.
"Everyone we met here who works in MADRA, you could just tell immediately, they're all just lovely." Tadgh praised. "Every single one of them, they were showing us photos of their dogs, and you could just feel it, you know? This is a good place."
"You could feel the love," Derry concluded.
Dog lovers
With 12 dogs at home, the Fleming family's appreciation and love for all animals is instilled in even the youngest member of the clan, Tadgh's one-year-old daughter.
"We have a little girl now, she's only one, and we brought her up with the dogs. She's just animal mad," said Tadgh. "It's so nice to bring her up loving animals. I think it's from the family that's where it comes from," Tadgh said. "But it's so important because they are part of the family."
Proving that they truly are dog-mad, Derry had his sights set on a dog under MADRA's care who had been abandoned once her breeders deemed her to be unfit.
"I wanted to take home Kay today," Derry said, with Tadgh jumping in, "he still has his eyes on her."
"I would have taken her home. That dog is the most lovable dog going, like, but somebody didn't have that dog for love. Sometimes, you know, things get into the wrong hands. Obviously, they should never have had a dog. I mean, you treat them like the way you want to be treated yourself."
"They're part of the family," Tadgh added for him.
"Everything stems, you know, from the home and teaching people. Back to education again, like educating people. I mean, say, taking a dog that comes with responsibility, and if you're responsible, then you'll have to take on that responsibility," Derry said.
Having spent some time around the dogs under MADRA's care and getting to know their individual personalities, Derry and Tadgh were ready to answer the age-old question: If you were a dog in MADRA, what breed would you be, and who would be adopted first?
Laughing, Tadgh answered first, "He's like, what'd you call a little snappy yoke?"
Derry barked his reply, "A Chihuahua, I could be snappy, but I'd love you too."
"A Chihuahua! He's got the same height as a Chihuahua. I'd say a Chihuahua, yeah," Tadgh chimed in. And when the question was reversed, Derry answered for his son:?"Oh, definitely a boxer. Slobbery and easy-going, and sleepy, at the same time, lovable. You just have to guide him along the line."
"He'd be adopted first because he'd play all nice," Tadgh said, with Derry replying, "Just be careful! My bark is worse than my bite."
Small Town, Big Difference
Travelling around Ireland to meet with the campaign's 10 finalists, MADRA was their third stop on their route.
Praising the work of the charities and initiatives selected and the scheme's impact, Derry said, "I think people are unaware of a lot of these places, like the impact that they have on their local communities, and only for a Return Scheme, we would be unaware of it.
"It's a win-win situation, it's for the groups and it's for the social aspect, and it's environmental, like, where does it end? It can keep going on and on."
With 10 return bins on a pilot scheme, MADRA has plans to expand the project. With one current driver volunteer on the road who collects bottles and cans from people's homes, the charity can take in around €70 every three weeks while also adding to the environment.
Needing 600k a year to keep their doors open, MADRA are urging everyone who can to get involved with their new recycling project, from corporates to homes that use bottles and cans every day.
The money they collect is put aside for puppy vaccinations to ensure the dogs brought into their care can live happy and healthy lives once they move to their forever homes. With hope, the Re-turn scheme will eventually raise enough money to also trickle down and help cover the cost of the older dogs who need additional care and treatment.
The above love mentioned by Tadgh and Derry Fleming is not missed when talking to any member of the MADRA team. All of the workers are banding together to ensure the dogs in their care can move into a family who will ensure they are safe and cared for.
The Galway-based charity has more on the horizon outside of the 'Small Town, Big Difference' campaign, with Bucket Day taking place on July 26, and Doing It for the Dogs on September 14. For more information on the work of the charity or to start an adoption application, visit www.madra.ie
