Thanks for visiting our fundraising page.

And another update - as of 29/5/08

We joined Animals Asia's 5 mile sponsored walk around Hampstead Heath on Saturday 17th May. To make things a tad more difficult, Chris juggled 3 balls for the first half with me guiding him, and in the second half, Chris 'walked me' around the heath in my dog mask and lead.  Yes, I did look a bit of a prat, especially when I entertained the locals by pressing the nose on the mask and barking like a dog.....

Despite the continuous aftershocks felt at Animals Asia's China Bear Rescue Centre - not far from Chengdu - staff who were evacuated last week have now returned and as many dogs and cats are being rescued as a result of the earthquake, our help as SAV's - Small Animal Volunteers is needed even more.

So we are finally off - our flights are booked for 11th June to Chengdu, via Mumbai and Hong Kong and the China Bear Rescue Centre is the first stop on our 10 month trip around China and India, where we will be taking care of the cats, dogs and Moon bears, which have been horrifically treated, but fortunately rescued by staff at the sanctuary. 247 Moon bears have been rescued to date!

The money we raise will go towards helping the British founder, Jill Robinson and her team to rescue more of the 7,000 bears still incarcerated in bile farms across China, and to help change the Chinese perception towards our favourite fluffy friends - to think of cats and dogs more as friends and less as food. And after the earthquake in China on 19th May, the money will also be useful to help repair buildings at the sanctuary and to help rescue animals trapped in the wider community.

If you want to find out more about Animals Asia or what they are doing to help the earthquake relief effort, visit their website and have a look at Jill's blog: www.animalsasia.org

After volunteering for 6 weeks at the China Bear Rescue Centre, we will be travelling around China before going to Goa to volunteer at Animal Tracks, the dog rescue centre which International Animal Rescue runs there - their main focus is to vaccinate stray dogs against rabies, and to sterilise any strays to help reduce a growing population. They are also involved with rescuing the 'dancing' sloth bears and have two sanctuaries they support so any money donated offline to either of us or for Chris's amazing goal scoring skills will be sent directly to Alan Knight, the CEO of IAR. Check them out at: www.internationalanimalrescue.org

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor us: Animals Asia Foundation will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

Many thanks for your support. Please dig deep and sponsor us online!

Helen and Chris x