Legacy Giving

Almost Home Dog Rescue was founded in October 2016 by a very small group of like-minded people who are passionate about dogs, their welfare and happiness. Our ethos is to provide a safe haven for dogs in need and educate the next generation of dog owners. To read more about our Vision and Values, please visit here.

We have 4 operational kennels and 2 isolation kennels at the rescue and 8 fosterers. We also have 15 dogs in homes on a forever foster scheme, where all their needs are met by the rescue.

We rely on our supporters, donations and legacies, to help cover the costs of caring for, rehabilitating and finding our beautiful dogs their perfect ‘forever home’. Legacy gifts are hugely important to Almost Home Dog Rescue and will enable us to continue to be there for even more of the dogs needing our help.

Dogs coming into Almost Home are being given a second chance. We are not a breed specific rescue and we take in order of who needs us most. This is usually dogs from the pound first, dogs who have served their 7 days and would otherwise be put to sleep. We will always find room for any urgent social cases such as dogs with deceased owners or homelessness. If we still have kennel space then we will take greyhounds in at the rescue. We have rescued and re-homed 1482 dogs, and around 200 of these have been greyhounds. All dogs coming to us are assessed, given a warm, comfortable space and are fully health checked before receiving whatever medical care they need. They are also neutered and micro chipped before going on to the wonderful life that they deserve.

We are seeing an alarming increase in the number of dogs being given up and needing our help and have been inundated with requests for help from private individuals, as well as from vets managing ‘PTS’ situations. Additionally, many of the dogs coming into our care are older dogs or dogs with long-standing conditions, some of which may have previously gone undiagnosed or untreated, which increases our veterinary bills further. Our vet bills cost around, and often in excess of, £5,000 per month currently.

Remembering Almost Home Dog Rescue in your Will or via In Memory Giving means that dogs such as Marley (above) will continue to have the opportunity to live a safe, comfortable, happy life in a loving forever home that they deserve. Our ‘Forever Fosters’ who, for many reasons, are unable to be rehomed and will stay with Almost Home Dog Rescue for life, will also benefit enormously from your Charitable Legacy. One of our regular supporters passed away and wanted to be remembered by Almost Home, so we named a kennel in her memory…”Karlyn’s Kennel” (below). Just another way we can pay tribute and thank you for leaving us a legacy.

Thank you!

In Memory Giving

If you would like to give, In Memory, to AHDR, please don’t hesitate to call us on 07801 479376 or, if you prefer, you can make your donation on our website here. Alternatively, you may find it preferable to place a request for donations in funeral announcements or at the service itself. If you wish to proceed with any of this, your Funeral Director can help with all of the arrangements.

Leaving a Charitable Legacy to Almost Home Dog Rescue

You may consider including a legacy donation or gift for Almost Home Dog Rescue in your Will, in your memory. The gift can take whatever shape you choose and there are different ways of doing it. You could leave a fixed amount (i.e. where you choose the figure) or you could leave a percentage or share to us or, if you wish, you could leave us your residual estate (i.e. what is left after everything else has been paid) - that would make a huge positive impact to the Charity.

Why leave us a gift in your Will?

Every little helps here at Almost Home and every little really does mean the world to us and the dogs in our care. To give you an idea of how your donations help us:

• £150 pays for the neutering of a dog coming into our care.
• £500 pays for dry dog food for our dogs for three months.
• £1,250 pays for two weeks’ veterinary costs.
• £1,500 pays for a year’s worth of specialist items (leads, head collars etc.) to help our dogs be their best.
• £2,000 pays for BOAS surgery which aims to improve air flow through a fundamentally compromised upper airway, commonly found in short-muzzle and flattened face dogs.
• £3,000 pays for orthopaedic surgery. One example being 4 month old Tilly, who needed surgery to repair a deformed and previously fractured back leg and reattach her growth plate (pictured below). Tilly’s injuries weren’t accidental!

A gift in your Will can go a long way and enable us to continue the care we provide for our dogs. Making a gift in a Will to us will help to secure the future and sustainability of Almost Home Dog Rescue.

How would a gift in your Will help you?

• Feel good factor - if you have been good enough to help us so far, your help will be lasting beyond your lifetime. We hope that you will enjoy knowing that you are continuing to contribute to the future of our dogs and how much of a difference you really do make.
• No immediate family - it can be difficult to know how to leave your hard-earned wealth if you don’t have immediate family. Leaving it to charity can help make this decision and our dogs would be very grateful!
• Inheritance tax planning * - Inheritance tax is a voluntary tax. Leaving gifts to charity in a Will can help reduce how much tax your loved ones may need to pay ultimately when you pass away.
• Gifts to charity are tax free * - depending on how much you leave. If you leave over 10% of your net estate to a charity then your inheritance tax rate will be reduced from 40% to 36% (rates current as at 2022).
• Lifetime gifting * - you can make lifetime gifts to a charity, to reduce the value of your estate for inheritance tax purposes. Whilst this would be great for us, we ask you to ensure you take financial and legal advice to make sure you reap the benefits of your gifting.

* Please speak to a solicitor about making a Will to make sure you are properly advised and it is drawn up correctly. Always discuss your wishes with family members too to make them aware of your intentions. Where any inheritance tax planning is concerned, it is really important that you seek specialist advice from a solicitor or financial adviser (we can’t help you with that bit!). They will be able to tell you about your nil rate bands and if there are any reliefs for you.