A husky rescue centre just outside the village of Moy will soon see an upgrade in their services when they move into new premises.
Tyrone Husky Rescue was started by friends Hayley Doak and Lisa Marsh in January 2017, due to the pair having a considerable amount of huskies between them.
At the time, Lisa had 19 of the dogs, while Hayley had 11. They had been taking in rescue dogs but keeping them as pets, and so set up the rescue centre "literally overnight" in order to get new homes for the animals.
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They worked together for around two and a half years before Lisa decided to form another rescue group, Malamute Sanctuary Northern Ireland.
However, Lisa and Hayley remain great friends and work together behind the scenes to ensure both Alaskan malamutes and Siberian huskies can find suitable homes.
Last year, Hayley found out she would be moved from her rescue centre and home due to circumstances beyond her control, and so began a fundraiser to secure a new spot to care for the dogs.
And now, she's preparing to move into the new bigger premises, which should be more comfortable and provide more opportunities for the huskies in her care.
Speaking to MyTyrone, Hayley, 52, told us all about how Tyrone Husky Rescue has been received by the local community, and what the move means for its future.
She said: "The response has been really good, it's been positive. We've been extremely busy. We were initially just setting up a small rescue, I said no more than six to eight dogs. But within two weeks Lisa brought nine dogs here.
"Between our own huskies, malamutes, and what was coming in on rescue, Lisa had about 31 and I had about 28. So between the two of us we had 60 dogs, so what we thought was a small set-up actually turned out to be quite big, and was a lot for us to manage on our own."
Since beginning in January 2017, the group has re-homed over 250 huskies. For Hayley, the job is very hands-on, as she now makes all necessary checks and deals with all aspects of running the rescue centre herself.
"I do all the home checks, I follow everyone up, I do admin on the Facebook page," she said. "I won't let a dog go unless I've personally gone and checked the home out.
"A photograph or a video will not suffice, I have to physically go and see where the dog is going to make sure it's safe and they're going to be well looked after."
The new Tyrone Husky Rescue premises is available for 12 years, with Hayley saying it has a lot more space, both inside and outside, that will give the huskies more enrichment as they wait to find their forever homes.
She continued: "I was needing somewhere with more room, bigger fields, and I found a place that was just a stable block. I've done that up, I've put in another five block stables, and fenced it.
"The new space is going to give the dogs more enrichment, they won't be penned as long, they'll be out in the fields more. I'm going to grow an area of wildflowers to help with canine enrichment, then they can alternate between fields each day.
"Lisa and I said when we started that things would settle, but we're still as busy as ever. We have waiting lists, we're having to turn dogs away, but we prioritise pound dogs, welfare dogs, and those coming from neglect and cruelty - we take them in first.
"Then private surrenders come after that. In the future we'll just keep going, as long as there's a need to help the breed, I'll be helping the huskies and Lisa will be helping the malamutes."
Hayley adds that anyone interested in adopting a husky must have a 6ft secure enclosed garden and be able to give plenty of time to the new addition.
Both huskies and Alaskan malamutes are specialist breeds, and so aren't for everyone.
You can find out more about Tyrone Husky Rescue here and can donate to the group's fundraiser by clicking here.
For more Co Tyrone news, visit our new site MyTyrone.
