The owner of a north-east dog rescue centre is appealing for help to cover the £12,000 repairs caused by flooding.
Water came pouring into the building owned by Until Every Dog has a Home as torrential rain battered the region last month.
The base at Garmond, near Turriff, was left swamped – with flooding in its office ruining paperwork and destroying dog-training toys and equipment.
The fence for the secure training ground was left unstable and therefore unusable, the emergency access to the dogs was cut off and the only access road to the property was left in a poor state.
With help from a local farmer and the landlord, some repairs have already taken place.
But as most of the dogs being looked after have a history of bites or aggression, getting the training ground back up and running is a priority.
VIDEO: Aberdeenshire rescue dog charity submerged after heavy rain hit
After tidying the area and making sure it was safe again, owner Karen Fairclough has learned that it will cost between £7,000 and £12,000 to repair the premises.
Miss Fairclough said: “We need the money as these dogs are now limited to getting out of their kennels on leads, but having no time to be more free or really train.
“We need that space.”
Six dogs are currently in the care of the charity and Miss Fairclough, who has trained more than a dozen in the past.
The rain fell so heavily on September 28 that there was no time for the safe evacuation of the dogs.
Miss Fairclough said: “Water is really scary. It was rising and there was nothing we or anyone else could do, to the point the fire service had to leave as they thought we were close to being cut off entirely.
“I was at a course in Aberdeen when my daughter called and told me about the amount of water slowly engulfing the property.
“It was a struggle to get back but, after a lift in the farmer’s tractor, I made it.
“By that time, the water was closing in on the kennel of Daniel, who has a fear of water.
“We decided it was kinder to keep him in his enclosure and raise his bed than try and make him walk through the possibly dangerous area.
“Thankfully it stopped at that and we were all safe.”
To contribute to the rescue’s rebuild visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/flash-flood-recovery or to offer services towards the repairs contact the Until Every Dog Has a Home page on Facebook.
