Irwin Mitchell’s Leeds Office Nominates Charity of the Year

A local charity which rescues and rehabilitates dogs is set to benefit after lawyers and staff at the Leeds office of Irwin Mitchell nominated it to be their Charity of the Year for 2018.

The national law firm’s initiative sees staff across each of its offices hold a range of events throughout the year to raise funds for local causes which have been selected through a vote.

The programme is part of the work of the Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation, an independent charity which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary and has raised more than £1.5 million for charities in the UK and abroad.

This year, the Leeds office of Irwin Mitchell has voted to raise funds for Whitehall Dog Rescue, a charity which takes in dogs which are harder to rehome due to their breed or past and provides them with treatment and rehabilitation.

The charity was founded in 1992 by Brian Wheelhouse after he discovered that stray and unwanted dogs collected by dog wardens or handed in to the police were taken to private kennels and destroyed after seven days if no owner claims or is willing to adopt them.

Brian gave up his job in car sales in Leeds, to focus on reducing the amount of unwanted dogs being destroyed. He relocated to a farm in East Ardsley in Wakefield (nr Leeds) where Whitehall Dog Rescue now operates from, aiming to provide the best facilities possible for their rescue dogs to be rehabilitated, trained and treated, if necessary.

The charity relies entirely upon donations from businesses and members of the public in order to fund their work, which includes the average cost of £12 per kennel per day and covers food, vet bills and heating costs.

Andrew Merrick, Regional Managing Partner at Irwin Mitchell’s Leeds office, said: 

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“The Charity of the Year initiative has been a fundamental part of our efforts to actively support the local communities where we are based for many years and we are proud to have helped a number of very valuable causes along the way.

“Whitehall Dog Rescue is a fantastic cause and we are already hard at work planning out the range of events which will be held across the year to raise vital funds to support the incredible work it does.” Andrew Merrick - Chief Financial Officer

The Leeds office of Irwin Mitchell has supported a number of charities down the years including the local branch of Age UK, but this year it is the turn of Whitehall Dog Rescue.

The East Ardsley-based organisation focuses on difficult case dogs which are either hard to rehome or have severe health problems with little chance of successful treatment. Funds raised by Irwin Mitchell are set to be used in a variety of different ways, including covering vet fees, as well as the purchase of specialist replacement dog beds, food and to support rescue efforts.

Brian Wheelhouse, who founded Whitehall Dog Rescue, said: “Dogs come into Whitehall for various reasons. There are the cruelty cases we all hear about in the media, but there are also much less obvious reasons such as relationship breakdowns, financial difficulties or the owner passing away. Over the last two to three years we have seen the number of rescue dogs coming through Whitehall massively increase.

“Sadly at the same time we have also seen a huge decline in people wanting to adopt a rescue dog. We aim to educate people about the current plight in the rescue world and enlighten people to the difficult and heart wrenching situations we face every day. Sadly rescue work is rarely just an opportunity to cuddle up with our furry friends. Instead it is full of difficult emotional decisions, impossible situations and a lot of hard work.

“We are delighted to have been named the Charity of the Year for the Leeds office of Irwin Mitchell and are sure that their support will make a huge difference to our efforts to ensure that all of the dogs we rescue are able to get the care they need.”