Dogs Against Drugs is the last chance to stop illegal substances from reaching the streets of our isles community. In recent years, funding has failed to increase and with the cost of living rising, so has the cost to maintain the critical service it provides.

The Scottish government has ring fenced funding that Dogs Against Drugs receives through Shetland Alcohol and Drugs Partnership and as a result less money is getting to the charity. 

Around £120,000 a year is needed to maintain the charity and it only has around three-quarters of that in place for 2024/25. Over the last five years, Dogs Against Drugs has run at a loss to cover fuel, dog food, wages for two handlers and vet bills.

And in September last year, Dogs Against Drugs was instrumental in the seizure of £750,000 worth of substances since the start of 2022. Last year alone drugs dogs prevented £360,000 of illegal substances from getting to the streets.

The Shetland Times has set up a fundraiser to give much-needed money to the charity. If you wish to donate money to Dogs Against Drugs, do so through this fundraiser and not directly to Change.org.

Project manager Michael Coutts told The Shetland Times that the charity started off with one dog handler in 2002. He warned that things could now return to that.

“Back in the day, we had one dog and handler in Shetland,” Mr Coutts said. “Now, we are heading back that way again.”

“We are heading backwards instead of forwards because of financial constraints.”

Join us now in our calls to the Scottish government to direct money from the proceeds of crime to better fund this organisation that protects our children and our streets from drugs.