We are calling on the support of dog lovers to help us build a new state of the art kennel block for our rescue dogs.

Our site was purpose built for housing and rehoming unwanted and abandoned dogs and cats from the South West, with all construction work completed in 1998. This included the current parasol dog kennels, which were the best and cheapest option that we could afford at the time. The parasol kennels are now 23 years old and beyond economic repair.

The new kennel block design will replace the parasol units and fully conform to the exacting standards of what is expected in animal welfare today.

The replacement programme will take several years, as we will have to source the funding needed to replace one unit at a time and so it wont impact too much on our vital day to day work.

The new kennel blocks will, for the most part, be located in the same area as the existing parasols, however they are considerably larger due to new requirements and extra specialist rooms. The new design not only improves the well-being of the dogs through larger kennels, but has an internal corridor for potential adopters to view the dogs, and a covered area for the staff to clean the kennels. The new design also incorporates underfloor heating, high levels of insulation and natural ventilation to reduce running costs and improve the quality of comfort for the dogs, staff and customers.

General Manager Claire Sparkes says We are all very excited to launch this appeal as we have spent a lot of time on the design process, visiting other rescue centres across the country and learning what works and what doesnt. Therefore, our new kennels will be an incredible improvement for our dogs and will hopefully help them cope better with the stresses and strains of being kennelled, while they wait for new homes. We hope that our supporters will want to be part of this new and exciting development to show their love for dogs by donating towards our appeal. We dont receive any Government funding even throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, so we completely rely on the support of the public.

The cost of phase 1 is £651,000. The Robert Cave Memorial Fund started the appeal with a fantastic donation of £6,000, leaving £645,000 to raise.

If we are lucky enough to raise more money than is needed for this appeal, the excess will go towards helping the animals in our care.

Thank you for supporting us.