Practical help with dogs needed. Dublin 5

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this. Doing a favour for a friend at their wits end.
Looking for practical help please.
Friend lives away, their mother lives alone in Artane close to Beaumount hospital, with two small dogs.
She has poor physical and mental health so in and out of hospital.
Doesn't have any friends or family in the area.
She has home care 1 hr a day Monday to Friday.
She won't have the dogs adopted as she promised her late husband she would keep them. As far as she is concerned that is not negotiable.
Every time she is hospitalised or unwell there is a crisis about the dogs.
She needs a dog sitting and walking service at a reasonable cost available to walk one of the dogs regularly and to mind the two of them at home or in the sitters home at short notice.
Is there anybody who knows somebody honest or a group in the area who could help her please? Posted in After Hours and was advised to post here, Thanks

aonb

The poor woman! You are good to help out in this rotten situation...
Just so you get a reply, you could try some of the following options:
- contact local vet surgeries, ask them for any recommendations on people who might provide this service. Some vets provide a boarding service also
- Put a flyer in your local shops asking for a responsible person who would be intersted - you would have to interview them etc
- contact the local pet shops also - they might know of someone - typically their employees are animal lovers - someone might be interested in earning a little cash...
- contact the neighbours - they might know someone - a responsible teen who for pocketmoney would drop by to 'do' the dogs when needed
- try some of these:
https://www.google.ie/search?q=pet+sitters&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=PMz6Vs6GKsKHygPo6YuIAg
- some boards person will hopefully come along with local knowledge - good luck!

DBB

There's also The Dog Den in D5, a doggy daycare, groomers and training service run by the lovely Ciara D'Arcy.
http://www.thedogden.ie/index.html

If they can't help directly, they'll surely know local dog minders in the area who might help. I know of a couple of great minders around Raheny, but just can't put my hand to their contact details just now

JustAThought

I hope your friend or her mother has deep pockets - if her mom has mental health & other medical issues and nobody else friends or family has stepped in to help you are off to a bad start. A walker will do just that - walk typically for an hour or so & that will cost minimum about e15-e20 per walk for the two. dog day care can be similar per dog per day ( so about e40) and you would have to drop them off & collect hhem within a timeframe - if there is a medical situation or the owner is in hospital they will be ringing for them to pick their dogs up & being them home - they won't mind them overnight. I think the doggy day care Ciara/Raheny starts by a ler dog assesment of e80 to see if they would be suitable to take - IF they agree to take them & if they have space. There is also the hilton doggy daycare who are based near the Trinity Leisure Centre in s cottage with a large back garden across & down the road a bit from the pool - there used be a reception area in a shed in the front garden so you can spot it! Their prices used be more reasonable & they are more flexible - they also run a boarding kennels so if you had a sudden emergency & the money they might be able to transition from daycare into overnight accommodation - if they wern't booked out that night as places can often be.

My neighbour came up with a novel way of fixing her problem & got an au-pair to live in ( they have 2 dogs, no children!) & the au-pairs job was to walk the dogs twice a day & feed & mind them! Thou if your friends mother has mental illness problems this may not be an option but it might be worth considering . She put an ad up on aupairs.ie (or com) & it has been highly successful for her.

I'm sorry for the situation your friend is in - its a bit of a minefield but mind you're not left holding the baby so to speak. two dogs for the rest of their life is a big commitment - vets, shots, food, insurance, medical bills, walkers/kennels - its nice that the family are trying to find a solution but as the health situation gets worse or more unpredictable the problem of overnight minding will only become greater and typically a dog walker or day minder will not take this on and you might struggle to find one to take this on as they do it per hour or timed day to make a living - nobody wants to have someone elses problem left with them regardless of the ongoing medical emergencies & hospitalisations.