One woman is making sure abandoned dogs spend their final days living life to the fullest
Image credits: The Grey Muzzle Canine Hospice Project
Nicola Coyle (not pictured) is a retired nurse who established The Grey Muzzle Canine Hospice to take care of abandoned old, terminally ill or stray dogs. She runs the animal shelter from her own home in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.
Image credits: The Grey Muzzle Canine Hospice Project
Nicola takes the adorable dogs through McDonald’s drive-thru and even takes them to the local pub for a nice steak dinner.
Image credits: The Grey Muzzle Canine Hospice Project
“We’ll only take them in if the vet says they’ve got less than six months to live, so we’re focusing on end of life care,” said the former nurse in an interview with Metro. “I think the longest I’ve had one is around one year in my dog hotel and the shortest was about two weeks.”
Image credits: The Grey Muzzle Canine Hospice Project
“I don’t know when their birthdays are so we make sure we throw all of them a birthday party,” says Nicola. “If they’re well enough, we take them for a day at the seaside, they get fish and chips on the beach and ice cream.”
Image credits: The Grey Muzzle Canine Hospice Project
Image credits: The Grey Muzzle Canine Hospice Project
She uses her own money and everything people donate to her dog shelter. You can help by donating to The Grey Muzzle Canine Hospice Project’s PayPal here.
Image credits: The Grey Muzzle Canine Hospice Project
“We all get very attached to these cute dogs, it’s very emotionally intense and we do mourn and grieve for them,” says Nicola. “We do need to have breaks between them.”
Image credits: The Grey Muzzle Canine Hospice Project
Just because a dog’s fate is decided, doesn’t mean it should be abandoned. Quite the contrary – the final days of their lives should be made as special as possible. And thanks to people like Nicola, these dogs get to spend their final days feeling important and loved before departing to Doggy Heaven.
Image credits: The Grey Muzzle Canine Hospice Project
Image credits: The Grey Muzzle Canine Hospice Project
Image credits: The Grey Muzzle Canine Hospice Project
Image credits: The Grey Muzzle Canine Hospice Project
Image credits: The Grey Muzzle Canine Hospice Project