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Phoenix was established at the end of the end of 2016 and set loose on the General Public on 8th January 2017 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  We applied for charity status immediately and were delighted to achieve this on 8th March 2017.  I am a Trustee (Chair) along with my husband, Steve Cargill and my daughter, Kimberleigh Dhillon.  We all bring something different to the table and hope this sets a good balance. Phoenix has a real family feel and we promote this within the Team too because although enthusiasm runs very high here, a work-life balance is important to us.
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I head up a Team of Regional Managers from across the UK, each of whom has their own Team of Regional Coordinators and general volunteers.  They work tirelessly and endlessly to ensure that a French Bulldog in need can always have a safe home to go to – everyone is a volunteer and works with Phoenix out of the goodness of their hearts, alongside their own families and careers.  We operate using various social media networks and have no ‘base’ – apart from the office in my own home and several dining-room tables around the country!  All our dogs are first placed into pre-assessed, loving and knowledgeable foster homes, no kennels, ever.  This allows us to assess the dog properly – no dog behaves ‘normally’ in a kennel and many are already traumatised and behaving out of character due to the change of home and circumstance.  Dogs stay in foster care for a minimum of 3 weeks, maybe much longer if they need to be mended physically or behaviourally, after which they may be adopted by the fosterer or are made available for adoption.  Since May 2021 we have asked that all applicants apply to foster before they are eligible to adopt; this ensures that we can support them fully and help the dog to settle properly – and because most of our foster-carers chose to adopt anyway, meaning no dogs become available to adopt!  The Management Team discuss and select the very best-matched home from all the applications received.  All dogs leave Phoenix with 5 weeks insurance from Agria and a lifetime contract – we monitor and visit our dogs at regular intervals and if the worse should ever happen and the new home is unable to keep the dog, for any reason, it comes right back to Phoenix – safe forever.**
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Sometimes, people just need advice and support to be able to manage and keep their pet, at other times they need our non-judgemental, professional help in rehoming their dog.  As much as we can often be heard to say that it is ‘all about the dog’ we never lose sight of the fact that there is often a broken-hearted human at the end of a surrendered dog’s lead.  We will never judge anyone and all of our volunteers are mindful of this.  Other dogs may be genuine ‘rescues’ and our Team are well-versed in collecting these and seeking appropriate medical attention immediately, before they even reach their specialist foster homes, where the real mending can begin.  All our dogs receive the very best care, medically and psychologically, during foster and afterwards in adoption.
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I am very proud of Phoenix French Bulldog Rescue and not just for myself but for the Team and our volunteers and followers; yes, always a capital ‘T’ for Team because they make this charity what it is and they deserve that special status.  Without a great Team we could not offer the Frenchies the help that we do and we could not support you when you need us.  Without our volunteers we could not do home visits, collect dogs, deliver dogs, hold fundraising events or support our fosterers.  And, without our AMAZING followers, we would not be here at all.  We could not help the dogs, pay our huge vet fees from the generous donations they make, or form great friendships and change lives, human and canine; we would cease to exist.  Yes, I am proud to be a part of this Team, and this Phoenix is truly flying higher by the day and raising French Bulldogs from the Ashes.  We are delighted that you have found us.
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Updated May 2021

** Except in cases of severe aggression