Meghan Markle’s rescue dogs have been a big ‘support’ during Covid and her ‘personal trials and tribulations’ in 2020, the CEO of her patronage Mayhew has revealed.
Caroline Yates has offered a glimpse into her relationship with The Duchess of Sussex, 39, and claimed that The Duchess of Sussex, 39, often references how ‘important’ her rescue dogs – a beagle named Guy and a black labrador called Pula – have been.
‘Whenever we talk to the Duchess about the charity, she always references how important her dogs are and what a support they are,’ she said, speaking to Hello! ‘Particularly during everything that’s happened this year, with COVID, and with the personal trials and tribulations she went through this year.’
‘It was really nice to share our experiences with her about how important animals are when things are tough and what a comfort they can be.’
The CEO of The Mayhew Caroline Yates has provided insight into her relationship with Meghan Markle. Pictured, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, hosting a special Time100 talk Tuesday, October 20, 2020
The Duchess of Sussex and Gloria Steinem discuss representation, why each vote matters and how all women ‘are linked, not ranked,’ Pictured, with rescue dogs Guy and Pula
The London-based animal charity, for which the royal is a patron, also had the honour of sharing the festive card in December 2020 on their social media channels.
It featured an artistic rendering of the couple with their son Archie and their pet dogs as they played in the garden of their £11million ($15million) home in Montecito, and read: ‘Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.’
Speaking of the ‘honour,’ Caroline said: ‘We had no idea what it would look like before we got the photo, and when we saw it, we thought, “Oh wow!” It’s very family-oriented, it was really lovely.’
Caroline also went on to say that despite Meghan relocating to America with Prince Harry and their son Archie, very little has changed – adding that the royal still receives regular updates from Mayhew.
The Duchess of Sussex meeting a Jack Russell called Minnie during a visit to Mayhew, an animal welfare charity, at its offices in north-west London on 16 January 2019
This year’s Christmas card featuring Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their son Archie (pictured)
She added that the royal is particularly interested in an animal assisted intervention programme named TheraPaws, which aims to promote physical, social and emotional wellbeing.
It comes after the animal charity has revealed in May last year that The Duchess of Sussex had been secretly working with her patronage as it ‘desperately’ struggled with funding amid the coronavirus crisis.
Meghan Markle has been ‘in touch’ with her patronage the Mayhew throughout the crisis, according to the charity’s media officer.
Sarah Hastelow told Newsweek she couldn’t give details of the contact, but explained: ‘She’s been such a champion of animals and animal welfare. It’s always been a passion of hers.’
The charity’s website details that it ‘desperately needs extra funds’ to buy supplies to be able to continue it’s work with animals.
Sarah added that the royal had ‘been in touch’ during the period, but added that she ‘couldn’t say much more than that.’
Meanwhile a source from the Sussexes’ team explained: ‘The Duchess is in touch and working with Mayhew at this time.’
The went on to add that the organisation was ‘more than a classic animal charity’ and that it was ‘supporting so many other people in the community’ during the pandemic.
Meghan, an advocate of adopting rescue dogs, chose animal welfare charity Mayhew as one of her first patronages.
She previously visited the shelter in January 2019, and was introduced to Maggie, a one-year-old Jack Russell who was up for adoption on the charity’s website.
The duchess picked up Maggie when she saw her shivering, and clutched her to her chest as she chatted to Mayhew staff, who told her about the charity’s projects in India and Afghanistan.
And in January, the royal made a surprise visit to the charity in one of her last official outings in the UK before she jetted back to Canada to be with Archie.
Mayhew was founded in 1886 and today sees itself as an animal welfare social worker, keeping cats and dogs, whether family pets or companions for the homeless, safe and well alongside their owners, and supporting communities.
It has a pet refuge service, provides vet services for vulnerable owners, and has a team of animal welfare officers who work with local residents helping local communities.