Building an extension for Ash

How what should have been a cause for happiness and celebrations turned into a nightmare. This is how it all started.

For many years we have been using our own small kitchen for all the Ash food preparations (there are 4 large plastic containers on the floor with dry nuts for cats, pups, small dogs and large dogs respectively). We have to disinfect and wash the food bowls (up to 150 every day) in one small sink, which also has to be used for washing the cat litter trays (up to 12 a day), the human washing up and it is the only sink we have for washing hands, washing kittens/cats and small dogs. It must be the busiest sink in Ireland.

The large semi professional washing machine is also in that kitchen, so all the dirty bedding, towels etc end up in the kitchen as well. The washing machine is in use at least 10 hours every day and there are always stacks of dirty bedding waiting their turn.

If you then keep in mind that every visitor to Ash has to come into the house (where most of the pups, kittens, adult cats and small dogs are) through that same kitchen you can imagine how difficult that is.

Our office is also in the house, so even if people adopt a dog from an outside kennel, they still have to come into the house to fill out the paperwork etc.

Under the circumstances it will come as no surprise that we have hoped and saved and planned for a small extension at the back of the house for a long time now.

When in December 2004 the ‘ex-grata end of the year grant’ of 10k from the Department of Agriculture came in (yes minister, thank you, much appreciated, not nearly enough though), we decided that the time had come to talk to a builder before the money was spent on other much needed facilities.

Builder came, saw the overstressed kitchen and promised to give us our kitchen back as soon as January 2005. He made a plan and quoted 7.2k ex. vat for the job of building a small utility room on to the kitchen, at the back of the puppy-room, to be started and finished in January (i.e. 2005).

How happy we were…….January came and went as did February and March. Bad weather was blamed for delays.

Easter weekend came and brought us Hardy, the Springer Spaniel x that had horrific facial injuries after he was shot and left to die.

When it became apparent that Hardy’s surgery would have to be done in UCD and might cost as much as 6-7k euro we asked tv3 for help. They opened a bank account for Hardy and people gave generously, in fact after Hardy’s treatment was paid for there was another 11k euro in the account and another couple of thousand euro had been send to Ash directly, so it was decided that we would spend that money on a Hardy Special Care Ward, where animals could recover after being injured or after surgery, it would also house mothers with young pups and queens with kittens.

Builder came out and had a look, said that in order to achieve that the existing puppy room would have to be broken down (it was in need of refurbishment anyway) as it was in the way of a larger extension. Once broken down an extension could be build that would give us the extra space and would stay within the limit of what can be build on to the back of your house without planning permission. The only downside was that the roof of the puppy room was build into the roof of the cottage and the roof of the cottage would have to be replaced.

He gave us a quotation and the verdict was 33k euro, including vat, more than what we had hoped for and more than what we had. But it was decided that there was no cheaper option and that the facilities were so badly needed that we would have to do some serious fundraising to get the extra money together. On May 9, he said it would take him 8 weeks to do the job and he would start shortly.

We had to vacate and dismantle the puppy room as well as the 3 dog runs that were attached to it. The puppies and cats had to be cared for in our living-room and joined the dogs that were already there; this gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “a full house”.

In the meantime it was reluctantly decided to cancel the open day for this year as that might put undue pressure on everybody, reluctantly as it raised just under 2k euro last year.

In June one of our volunteers tells me he is an architect in real life and he offers to do up a set of proper drawings as the builder may be delaying because we haven’t given him proper drawings.

Finally in the last week of July the builder drops off 2 lads who start taking down the roof of the puppy room. That results in a big hole in the roof of the cottage, so we hope that it won’t be long until they are finished with putting the new roof on the cottage.

First week of August a digger comes out, also dumpers and large tractors, the walls and the floor of the puppy are taking down and the stone rubble is removed.

August passes with promises of work starting shortly, with all the rain we had, water is coming in through the hole in the roof and is running down the walls of our living room.

In September one little job is done every week and by the end of September the floors are poured. They are too high though, 7 inches too high, they also slope towards the cottage and now water is also coming in under the old puppy-room door and we have to evacuate the puppies that are in our office on the floor as their crates are in the water. Ash is turning into a disaster area. Help……

First week of October Remi rings the builder and asks him what he is playing at, Christmas is getting closer, it is getting cold, rodents are taking over the attics and from there come into the kitchen and other rooms as there is a big hole in the roof. Builder promises to have the walls up by the end of the week. Wednesday night no blocks have arrived and we ring him to ask is he still planning on building the walls this week.

Then he drops his bombshell: “NO, NOT THIS WEEK OR IN THE NEXT 3 WEEKS, MOREOVER I’M PULLING OUT”. When asked why and how he could do that after pulling down our puppy room leaving us with a big hole in the roof, he said that other jobs in Dublin had taken longer than he had thought and that he simply doesn’t have the time. He also said that the Dublin jobs were worth a lot of money and that he was doing our extension for next to nothing.

He said he would send us a new quotation as there were a few additions made by the architect and that he would give us the mobile number of a local lad who would be able to finish the job. The new quotation was 41k including vat. The local lad’s number was on it, but that is just what he is, a local lad, no company, no C2, no warranty, no vat reg. NO GO.

Time for solicitors and a plan, starting with a new builder and a new quotation. Can’t give an outline here of what the solicitor said as that may prove harmful.

Can tell you though what the new quotation is: a staggering 83.5k euro, I feel like the government building a stretch of new motorway, have always wondered how they can overshoot their budget so grossly. A second builder was contacted, he arrived at 88k euro.

At the end of October tv3 comes out with a camera crew, a fresh appeal is launched; we now need to appeal to the generosity of the people to give us a roof over our heads.

All this time we are trying to cope with no puppy room, no utility room, no space.

In the living room wire crates are now stacked 3 high making feeding and cleaning very difficult. We have no place to go to with visitors, who are filling out adoption forms on the ironing board in the living room or on the bonnet of their car if it isn’t raining. The office isn’t any better, 8 dogs and 3 kittens are purring, barking, playing and always at their noisiest when the phone rings. My head is ringing too. Help………

Now it is November and instead of seeing the extension finally nearing its completion once more a digger/track machine comes out and out comes the floor, it was too high remember.

The appeal on tv 3 brought in about 2.5k euro and I feel so ungrateful saying it isn’t enough, that is the truth though, it isn’t enough if you are looking at 43k euro needed.

It is going to be a long and cold winter with lots of snow and ice, wonderful. This is the one year I’m not dreaming of a white Christmas, I’m hoping for getting our puppy room back, a place to keep the small dogs safe, a place for the neutered and injured animals to recover.

Please send us a Christmas card and if you can pop in some money to help us rebuild our cottage/rescue centre and our lives. Thank you for being patient enough to read all this.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.