ANIMAL CHARITY LAUNCHES MAJOR FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN AND CELEBRATES RE-HOMING OF 100,000TH ANIMAL

On 20 April Bath Cats & Dogs Home is celebrating the launch of its 100k fundraising Appeal and the re-homing of Bluebell, its 100,000th animal, supported by Bath and England ace, Matt Perry.

Staff at the animal shelter are looking forward to a day of double celebration. The rescue centre is launching its 100k Appeal to ensure it will be able to continue to care for another 100,000 rescue animals for future generations and is also celebrating the re-homing of Bluebell, its 100,000th animal, since the centre was established 70 years ago.

Bluebell, a beautiful lurcher, was originally rescued from Birmingham where she was kept in an outside kennel. She strayed and her owner could not afford to keep her, so Bluebell was brought to the Bath animal shelter. Mr and Mrs. Phillips and their twins Johnny and Eleanor, 8, from Lansdown Road, Bath, have adopted Bluebell. Mrs. Phillips comments: “We fell in love with Bluebell the first time we saw her. She is an absolute darling. So gentle and loving and very fond of the children, she has settled in really easily and is very much part of our family. We also re-homed our collie from Bath Cats and Dogs Home three years ago and both dogs get on really well. The staff at Bath Cats and Dogs Home do a wonderful job caring for so many dogs, cats and small animals and we hope their new 100k Appeal will attract the thousands of pounds worth of donations the Home needs to carry on its wonderful work.”

Matt Perry, the former Bath and International Rugby star, will officially launch the 100k fundraising Appeal raising the profile of the independent charity to secure crucial funding to help continue to care for its hundreds of dogs, cats and small animals over the next seventy years. The centre is urging animal lovers from across the region to donate to its Appeal to help dogs, cats and small animals who have fallen victim to cruelty to ensure it remains able to care for future generations of rescue animals.

Rachel Allen, spokesperson, comments: “We are launching our 100k Appeal to coincide with the re-homing of Bluebell, our 100,000th animal. Re-homing 100,000 animals over seventy-four years is a huge achievement and one we are immensely proud of. We continue to be full to capacity with 160 dogs, 140 cats and numerous rabbits, chickens, ferrets, guinea pigs and rats seeking new homes. The challenge of looking after all these animals is greater now than ever and we are urgently asking animal lovers from across the region to dig as deep as they can to help us reach our target. We frequently see really sad cases of neglect and abuse, dogs and cats that have fallen victim to appalling cruelty. We hope we will still be here in seventy years time for future generations of rescue animals, but it’s only with your ongoing help we will be able to do so. Please help us rescue animals now and in the future.”

The centre’s animals come from a much wider region than just the local Bath area and it regularly accepts Welsh and Irish strays as well as greyhounds, which are on death row and awaiting the pound. There are many heart-warming stories about very sad cases which have arrived at Bath cats and Dogs Home, but whose lives have been completely transformed with loving new owners. The independent, self-funding animal centre re-habilitates and re-homes more than 2,000 animals each year. It welcomed its first stray dog in 1937 and continues to re-home mistreated, abused and stray cats, dogs and small animals, but it continues to need more than �3,300 a day to operate, that’s more than �1.2M a year. The rescue centre now needs the help of its supporters more than ever if it is to continue its life-saving work for the next seventy years.

To donate to the 100k Appeal you can give online at www.bcdh.co.uk, or contact the fundraising team on: 01225 787334 or send a cheque made payable to Bath Cats and Dogs Home, and send to Bath Cats and Dogs Home, The Avenue, Claverton Down. Bath. BA2 7AZ.

For further information, please contact:

Rachel Phelps-Allen on 01225 750192 or press@bcdh.co.uk

Bath Cats & Dogs Home is one of the largest re-homing centres in the UK, providing essential shelter, veterinary care and re-homing services to more than 3,000 animals every year.

Although a branch of the national RSPCA, the home does not receive financial support from the organisation and therefore relies totally on donations, fundraising and legacies to secure the huge �1.2m required every year just to keep the home running.