I am so happy to share this story of kindness. While many us love animals, it takes a special person with a huge heart to dedicate their life to helping animals. Maureen Sheridan has been doing exactly that since 1990, when she started The Animal House Jamaica.
Maureen was born in England and grew up in both the UK and Canada (lots of transatlantic crossings), but has called Ocho Rios, Jamaica home for 38 years.
Maureen saw the need for a rescue because there was no one on the north coast of Jamaica helping the many animals that needed help. Since then, The Animal House Jamaica has helped stray, injured, abandoned, and feral animals by providing food, shelter, and medical care.
Dogs such as Fergie, who was hit by a car and left on the roadside to die, probably wouldn’t be alive today if not for The Animal House Jamaica. X-rays sadly showed that Fergie has two broken legs and a fractured pelvis. The injuries are so severe that surgery is not an option, and the only thing left to do is a double amputation. The Animal House Jamaica will do whatever is needed to help Fergie, even this expensive procedure.
Here are a few of the animals rescued by Maureen and The Animal House Jamaica—
Maureen plans to continue taking in animals for as long as is needed. While The Animal House Jamaica does not receive any help from local volunteers, they have been blessed with many volunteers coming from abroad to help care for all the animals.
Not only do people from other parts of the world come to The Animal House Jamaica to help care for the animals, they also offer them permanent homes. Many adopters are from the USA and Canada, and they have even adopted animals to visitors from Europe who have fallen in love with a Jampup or a Jampuss (yes, Jamaican cats).
My family has been blessed with our very own Jampup—Roo. While my daughter was in Jamaica, she found a little pup wrapped in plastic, dehydrated, and with many wounds. My daughter wanted to bring the puppy home to Canada, but the pup was too sick to travel back with her. This is where Maureen and The Animal House Jamaica stepped in. They helped us find a vet to take care of Roo while she recovered from her many injuries, and when she was well enough, arranged for Roo to be flown home to us. I will forever be grateful for all the support we received from Maureen.
Like us, many adopters keep in contact with Maureen by sending her photos of the dog or cat that joined their family. The Animal House Jamaica has had many success stories which can be seen on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/theanimalhousejamaica/
Sadly, some dogs and cats are not adoptable. But these dogs and cats still have happy lives, as they will spend the rest of their days, months, years taken care of by Maureen. Some even live in her house!
The Animal House Jamaica has taken in and cared for thousands of animals since inception. This kind of care costs money. Most of her funding comes from donations. If you would like to donate, please check out their website at https://www.theanimalhousejamaica.org/
Maureen believes animals should be treated with care and respect, and she works hard to educate people about the importance of treating animals with kindness. When asked for one thing she would change in the world, Maureen’s answer was—world peace.
Anitha Rao-Robinson 