Prolific knitter aids Galway animal charity’s fundraising efforts with teddy outfits

Geraldine Kennedy Hunt remembers clearly the morning that she received a large parcel in the Madra shop in Moycullen where she works.
Inside were dozens of tiny hand knitted garments, a selection of jumpers, trousers, hats, scarves; each beautifully crafted with a phenomenal amount of detail,” she says.
“I didn’t actually know what to do with them. They were tiny. I dropped some of them to the neo-natal clinic for premature babies to wear. Then I thought of the bags and bags and bags of teddys that are donated to the shops.”
The pieces were the work of Betty Knight, 87, from the UK, whose daughter-in-law’s sister lived in Moycullen and had donated handmade crafts to the charity shop in aid of the dog rescue and adoption charity.
Betty decided to get in on the act – and she hasn’t stopped knitting miniature outfits for the last decade. She is now proudly the eldest Madra volunteer.
“I had this brainwave – I could dress up the teddies that are donated, give them names and sell them as new.”
The teddys are thoroughly washed, and sometimes steam cleaned and dried before they are given a whole new name and character for their next owner.
“Betty has boxes in her house with buttons, bow ties – these are not quick knits. The amount of work that goes into each one is huge,” enthuses Geraldine.
“She’s not really able to get out and about anymore. She spends her days knitting and knitting these outfits. We’ve offered to send her wool but she says she doesn’t want it because all her neighbours are always donating it to her – the house is full of it.”
When Covid hit, the revenue from the shops took a real nosedive, which hampered the capacity of the charity to continue running its shelter in Camus, Connemara and the adoption and fostering service.
While there was an online shop, the dressed teddies were only added at Christmas.
“We must have sold at least 70 of them. They were a huge hit. We charge €6 for the teddy and €6 for the postage because some of them are quite large. We didn’t want to charge too much given we have bags and bags of teddys here we’d like to sell.”
The new line has proved quite a hit with the public. Last week, for example, there were over 30 teddys available for sale ahead of Mother’s Day. Other donated clothes, shoes and bric-a-brac can also be purchase online.
“We are reusing donations that come in which must have meant something to someone and getting them ready to be loved by a new owner. I love that,” enthuses Geraldine.
While enquiries about adoption to the rescue service have greatly increased during Covid as people found themselves confined to home with more time to care for a dog, the charity is still careful about where it rehomes its charges.
“We had a huge amount of people looking for pups – or anything with four legs. But we’re not going to farm them out without looking at the bigger picture in the long term. What happens when they go back to work?”
Geraldine is currently fostering Jenny, a collie fearful of human contact.
The 2019 annual report said the dogs reaching Madra were “more likely to be traumatised, under-socialised and in need of long-term care, rather than dogs suitable for rehoming as your average pet dog family”.
“These dogs take up a huge amount of time and money,” it added.
That year 559 dogs were taken in, 326 dogs were adopted, 207 dogs transferred to other rescues and 115 puppies rehomed. Since its formation in 2005, MADRA’s work has seen the euthanasia rates of abandoned dogs in Galway fall from 83 per cent to eight per cent.
The teddy bears are available to buy on www.madra.ie/ online-store.