It’s hard to know a peaceful retirement when you’re a dog! In Nièvre, our old four-legged friends are pampered by two associations.

What if dogs and cats had the right to their own retirement homes? This is the case in Nièvre, for firmness. Here, in an area of ​​several hectares, the refuge of Thiernais right now welcome 80 dogs including a dozen seniors. Thanks to a grant from France Relance of 30,000 euros, this asylum has been given a facelift. Welcome to funds to improve residents’ living conditions: “It’s especially important for senior dogs because they fear the cold, the heat, they’re in pain, so comfort is really important to them.” explains Liliane Desage, the president of the Thiernais refuge.

The eleven employees of the DPA association (Defense and Protection of Animals) in Nièvre and the Center feed and provide appropriate care for dogs, cats and sometimes horses.

The association is not new. It was founded by Princess Elisabeth of Croÿ, who could no longer bear to see animals abandoned almost 40 years ago. All of these dogs were rehabilitated due to critical situations. Everyone has suffered the trauma of being abandoned. Some have been subjected to abuse, others have been collected after a liquidation of breeding or lawsuits.

It’s not just seniors who adopt senior dogs!

Liliane Desage, President of the Thiernais Refuge

The goal is to find a family for his animals: every year more than 500 dogs and cats find a new family. Adoption costs are free, only a free donation of at least 50 euros is requested to contribute to the costs. In addition to the financial argument, adopting an older dog has advantages: “They are calm, already trained and in principle they are very gentle and very loving. Moreover, it is not only old people who adopt senior dogs.” concludes Liliane Desage with a smile.

Another association mobilizes in Nièvre for the well-being of retired or reformed animals. The association A hairy haven To mission to place dogs from previous breeding.

It was founded in January 2016 by Marie-France Derouvois in Varenne-Vauzelles: “We take in small breeding bulls which after 4 or 5 years are no longer fertile enough or dogs which do not meet the LOF criteria and which the breeders want to get rid of”, she explains. vsEvery year, she and five other families take dogs in to socialize them before they are adopted: “These are often very timid dogs that have not been handled as children and do not know family life.”

Marie-France is a former employee of the refuge Thiernais. Although her association is a small structure, every year she allows about fifty dogs, especially small ones, to find a new home: “Our dogs get very short. Thanks to our website and our Facebook page. We quickly find host families, but they have to be patient.”