Dear Friend,

We would like to thank everyone who has supported us over the last 12 months; your appreciation of our work is very gratifying. A very big thank you to our band of helpers who turn out come rain or shine to man our fundraising stalls once a month in the Square in Shrewsbury.

At present the Centre costs around £26,000 a year to run, not taking into account the cost of any maintenance or repairs we have done in the last year. Income from fundraising, donations and charges for adoption comes to around £20,050, leaving a shortfall of £5,950, which is made up out of my husbands' wages and our savings. I hope that the situation improves this year, as I can see a time where we will not be able to continue our work and this will be a sad day.

We have had a busy year with 245 dogs coming into our care. At present we have 20, 17 of which are male. This unfortunately seems to be the trend, with young large male dogs being abandoned or handed over because owners can't cope. Many of the 'problems' associated with this type of dog can be avoided. Becoming territorial over property or toys, or looking for a bitch on heat can be overcome by early neutering, (between 5 & 6 months), socialising, (from 12 weeks), and plenty of exercise. A large dog is unsuited to a small house/garden and to infrequent or short walks. Any persons wanting to get a dog as a pet should think very carefully before doing so, and certainly pets should never be bought on a whim, or as a present to adults or children alike. It is equally important to get a dog that fits into your lifestyle and not one that looks cute. To put a dog into kennels because you cannot manage it causes severe stress to the dog and overloads the rescue kennels.

We had 68 cats in rescue last year, and have 9 to re-home at present. Kitten time was rather late and we all thought there would be none, how stupid of us as we suddenly became overrun; 5 of my present cats are kittens from the summer that I have been unable to re-home. One particular cat stands out among the many that came into our care this past year. We named her Poppy. An old lady who had to go to Hospital and felt Poppy would get under her feet handed her in when she returned. She then told me her cat was 12, and had not been neutered in the 9 years she'd had her. She had kittens constantly for the 9 years, remained un-named, and was not allowed indoors. She did feed her thank-goodness. Of course I took her in, heavily in kitten. What a beautiful cat she turned out to be, although she had no teeth which worried us as she'd be unable to sever the cord when her kittens were born. When she finally gave birth, she ruptured one kittens' stomach trying to 'bite' the cord, and it died. I helped with the second kitten, now a real star at 10 weeks. Poppy has had a few problems with her kidneys but is doing quite well considering she is worn out from years of producing kittens. Now she needs a new home where she will get the love and attention she deserves.

We said a sad farewell to David and Carol in September who left to retire to sunnier climbs in Spain. We cannot thank them enough for their help and contribution to our rescue centre; we'll miss them greatly and wish them a happy retirement.

Please let us know if you can help with our fundraising activities, we're always in need of things to sell and any building materials for repairs. When giving to animal rescues, please remember the small centres, which unlike their National counterparts are run and funded almost entirely by volunteers and voluntary contributions. As a small centre, our income relies totally on donations and fundraising events, the first of which start again in March. I'll publish the dates in February.

Finally, thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. If you require any more information about us, or wish to help, please contact us.