Mansfield carer's bid to give '˜bucket list' send off to dying dogs will melt your heart

Nicola Coyle, aged 46, runs The Grey Muzzle Canine Hospice Project from her home in Mansfield, taking in “death row” dogs with less than six months left to live.

The retired nurse helps them complete a “bucket list” in their final days – taking them for ice creams on the beach and throwing them birthday parties.

Her selfless acts have saved dogs from spending their final moments alone in pounds, vet surgeries or animal charities – or even being put down.

Instead of living their final days locked away, they go for McDonald’s drive-thrus, to the pub for a steak dinners and get as many cuddles as they want.

And when they die she has them cremated and buries their remains in a special plot in her garden.

Nicola spends up to £500 per dog – from her own pocket or from fundraising events – and with the help of her two teenage children, Harry, 14, and 15-year-old Olivia, has cared for more than 30 dogs.

The dogs she cares for come from pounds and rescue centres which take in dogs found wandering the streets, dumped on the doorsteps, or brought in by people unable to care for them.

Each dog has a different story, but Nicole reckons most are abandoned by owners unwilling to pay for expensive vets bills or are “working dogs” no longer considered useful.

One charity she regularly helps said they “couldn’t be more grateful” to Nicola who has given some of their most desperate pets “love and care like they have never received”.

She says: “It can be an utterly heartbreaking job, but someone has to do it.

“I’m an animal lover and can’t bear the thought of them spending their final days without the love they deserve.

“It can be tough, but ultimately it’s so rewarding when you can make those times special.

“I normally have a maximum of two dogs at any one time.

“We’ll only take them in if the vet says they’ve got less than six months to live, so we’re focusing on end-of-life care.

“I think the longest I’ve had one is about a year and the shortest was about two weeks.

“I don’t know when their birthdays are, so we make sure we throw all of them birthday party.

“If they’re well enough, we take them for a day at the seaside, they get fish and chips on the beach and ice cream.

“We’ll also take them down to the local pub – it’s really dog friendly, and they’ll get a steak dinner too.”

Nicola has been running the hospice out of her home for years, but officially put a name to it a year ago after caring for one of her favourites, bulldog Dougie.

He was found tied up outside a vet surgery one morning and given a matter of weeks to live after they found he had lymphoma.

Without a chip or collar, they did not even know his name, but he spent his final days in Nicola’s care.

She says: “He had the best temperament and just wanted to feel loved and safe.

“He was really poorly and not with us for long, but the difference I saw in him once he came with us from the pound, in just a matter of days, was incredible – he was a different dog.

“Dougie was about a year ago and that’s when I decided I didn’t want to see anymore dogs go through that.”

Nicola is well known by pounds, vets and charities in the area and gets in touch to ask if they have any dying pets that need care.

Most are taken from places where they will be put to sleep if not re-homed within seven days.

German shepherd Bumble was found stray, struggling to walk, with matted fur and an extremely painful back, in December.

He was taken to Helping Yorkshire Poundies, a rescue and re-homing charity for abandoned dogs, but was extremely distressed and about to be put down when Nicola stepped in.

Despite have a Staffordshire bull terrier already in her care, Nicola took in Bumble.

She threw him a birthday party and took him to the beach, before he died six weeks later.

Joanne Snaith, who works with Helping Yorkshire Poundies, says: “Bumble spent last weeks being spoilt in a comfortable home and I couldn’t be more grateful.

“Nicola does an amazing job, taking in dogs when they’ve been kicked out by their owners right at the very end of their lives – giving them love and care.

“I absolutely admire the work of The Grey Muzzle Project.

“Rescue is a very difficult ‘business’ to be in - it’s never-ending hard work and it’s heart breaking, but the majority of the time there’s a happy ending when the dogs find their new homes.

“But for Nicola, she has to put herself through the emotional wringer with every dog, I can’t imagine how difficult that is.”

Once the dogs are put down, Nicola takes each one to be cremated and keeps hold of the ashes.

She said: “My two teenagers are like my rock, I couldn’t do it without them.

“They come with me and say goodbye when they’re put down. They even come to the crematorium.

“We all get very attached to them, it’s very emotionally intense and we do mourn and grieve for them.

“We do need to have breaks between them.

“We’ve got about 20 buried in my garden, as well as my parents’ garden.

“It was getting a bit ridiculous. I couldn’t fit more in garden, so I’ve got about 10 urns in my house.

“Each dog costs about £500, which covers the transport to my house, their bucket lists and vet bills.

“Although it’s worth it, about year ago I started taking donations, I just can’t afford to keep doing it out of pocket.

“We also help other people who’s dogs are nearing the end of life, so they don’t need to be abandoned, with something we call ‘friends before the end’.

“We help raise funds for things like vet bills and cremation, so other people care for their dogs at the end.”

According to Dog’s Trust stray dog report, in 2016/2017 an estimated 2,231 dogs were put to sleep in total across the UK in the period of a year.

It was reported 280 dogs were put to sleep due to ill health and 226 due to having no rescue available.