Most people who visit DBARC during the course of our normal operating hours will have little idea of the multitude of activities that take place at rather less social hours of the day. As with most organisations, the casual observer sees only the routine movement as the DBARC duck hopefully glides across the surface of its own little pond, with no view of the feet paddling furiously below the surface! I suspect they might be quite surprised to see Donna, Annie, Janet and other brave volunteers working furiously at five or six o'clock in the morning, braving the chilly elements of that early hour to collect, welcome, feed and settle in our new arrivals, some of whom have travelled hundreds of miles in the first stage of their quest for a better life. The reward for these brave souls, however, is the rare privilege to witness the reaction of those poor animals as, after spending hours in their transit cages, they realise they've ended up in the hands of people who really care about them. As they get those first cuddles, eat a good meal and have a brief walk before settling down in a nice warm bed, you literally see them begin to relax and show the first signs of joy. By the time their arrival routine has been completed with a few goodies to accompany them to bed, the tails are usually wagging, or the first purrs are giving thanks for the sudden change in their circumstances. A few, who've probably experienced extremely traumatic events, take a little longer to realise they can have complete trust in their new found friends, but that merely makes it more delightful as the barriers start to tumble.
We feel extremely strongly about the hundred thousand domestic pets that are put down each year in the UK, usually just because there is no one prepared to take care of them. Because of the strict limitation imposed upon the number of animals we are permitted to keep at Hurst, we can do no more than scratch at the surface of this appalling problem, but comfort ourselves that every dog or cat that we can rescue from the civic pounds, wherever they may be, is one more life saved. In Ireland, for example, over 40,000 animals each year are put down after they have exceeded their permitted stay in the pound. When a dog is admitted to an Irish pound it is fitted with a collar that features the colour of that particular day of the week. Seven days later, when that colour is due to be issued again the next day, every dog wearing the fateful hue is put down. People like Marie of Dogs In Distress, an Irish rescue organisation we work very closely with, do everything they can to identify as many homes as possible, not only working ceaselessly, but also primarily at their own expense. Their work and deadlines are, of course, ceaseless and repressive as every day they have to face the fact that the colour is up for so many poor animals they have no chance of saving. Despite this appalling situation, the puppy farms and less reputable breeders continue to pour animals into an already overcrowded community in order to make their grubby, but lucrative, incomes.
For the lucky few, their arrival at Hurst means the start of a new life in which care replaces crisis and the love of good people, like you dear Reader, provides joy and delight for both the animal and its new family.

The Christmas and New Year period saw some extremely busy times at the Sanctuary as a most encouraging number of animals found kind and loving people to give them a new lease on life. At the other end of the spectrum, the first post-Christmas discarded gifts have started to arrive. We just have to content ourselves with the view that these worried and dejected animals are better off with us and that, after a hopefully short and happy stay at the sanctuary, will find happiness with more considerate and loving families. One of the most heart-warming events during the first weeks of the New Year was the identification of a lovely home for Evie, an eleven-week-old puppy who was found to be totally blind upon arrival at Hurst. Evie is a real charmer who loves the entire world and had very rapidly and effectively learnt to extend her other senses to compensate for the loss of her sight - astonishing how that twitching nose could identify a treat at fifty paces! Looking after a blind animal requires very consistent and special skills, thus imposing some particular limitations upon homing opportunities. The kind fates, however, smiled benevolently upon Evie and she now lives with her delightful new family which had not only previously looked after a similarly handicapped dog, but also has two other dogs to act as her guides and companions. Working at Hurst becomes a real bonus in life when you see an animal like Evie moving out to such a new and deservedly delightful start in life.
The biggest single factor in the enormous increase in the number of animals we are currently able to happily re-home has undoubtedly been our internet site. Since that fortunate day when Janet North arrived as our new Manager and offered to design, establish and maintain www.dbarc.org.uk, old codgers like me, who had absolutely no idea of the power of the web, have been truly astonished at the interest and opportunities the innovation has created. In a short space of two years, the web site has not only promoted our image and objectives to so many good people in Berkshire, but has also spread our "catchment area" far and wide, with people travelling hundreds of miles to meet and adopt new pets. It has, indeed, completely revolutionised some aspects of our activities and whereas, in the past, home-checks involved a little local travelling, adoption requests from Devon, Leicestershire, or even Edinburgh, send us scrabbling for our address books to see if we know a suitable person or organisation in the relevant locality. Luckily Donna Penfold, our Chairman, is a walking encyclopaedia of animal welfare organisations and people, so we rarely get stumped! At the latest count, some 16,000 visitors per month log onto our site, not only to view the animals available for homing, but also to make donations, take out membership, or merely to check upon the progress of a favourite animal. Just one or two of our web activities have rather misfired, as when Janet added appropriate sounds to the website pages and was inundated with calls from clandestine business-time viewers whose activities had embarrassingly been revealed when their offices were suddenly filled with barking dogs or mewing cats! In the very near future we plan to launch yet another web-site activity with the establishment of a "DBARC Forum", in which people will be able to discuss various aspects of our activities, including homing advice and animal care topics, or share their experiences of rescue animals.

As 2006 begins its reign, everyone at the DBARC Sanctuary can reflect with very considerable satisfaction upon the enormous number of animals who have just spent their first Christmas in new and loving homes after some tragic event in their lives necessitated a period in our care. The loving care and attention that each animal enjoyed during its stay at Hurst was entirely due to the enthusiastic and compassionate efforts of our volunteers, who, regardless of icy or inclement weather, aches and pains, or personal commitments, turn out devotedly to minister to our inhabitants. These volunteers, so ably aided by our small band of dedicated employees, staff the sanctuary on a continuous basis and ensure that our animals receive the very best we can offer in terms of physical comfort and tender loving care. Similarly, our efforts would not be possible without the consistent generosity of our supporters who enable those works by keeping the Charity on a sound financial basis. DBARC would like to extend its very considerable gratitude to all those wonderful people for their dedication, efforts and generosity.
Even those animals who had not found new homes before the festive season enjoyed a typical Sanctuary Christmas with all the trimmings as Donna Penfold donned her chef's hat and cooked them all turkey for dinner, whilst Vanessa Player and Janet North wrapped up Christmas treat presents for each animal. If anyone doubts that animals have the capacity to enjoy such special treats, I suggest they pop over next year to see them demolishing their Christmas dinners prior to ripping off the wrapping paper and rushing around excitedly with their new toys! A special "Thank you" to Tina Horecki who so kindly donated so many of their Christmas toys. We should also like to express our most sincere appreciation to the Cranbourne Agility Club, who presented us with the simply magnificent donation of £1,200, to David Taylor Estate Agents and the Wokingham Times for their most valued December Community Cash Award of £500 and to all those generous supporters who so kindly sent us Christmas donations. We assure all these kind people that their donations, like all funds received, will be used to provide care and comfort to many more animals in 2006.
2005 was certainly a notable year with some memorable characters passing in and out of our gates. Most of us will think back particularly to the likes of Benji, Trio and Tigger, all of whom had nonchalantly ignored the loss of a leg, to Skippy, a young Pomeranian who was badly burnt when some thug sprayed him with lighter fuel and to Bugsy and Malone, two gorgeous black rabbits who had been badly burnt by a dosing with peroxide bleach. One of my favourite moments was when Shep, a totally deaf collie who'd had a very long stay at Hurst, was driven off down the drive with his new family to a bright and contented future. You were a lovely lad Shep!
In many ways, however, the achievements of 2005 only serve to underline the challenges facing all rescue organisations in the coming new year. Although we accept it is only possible for us to make a small impact on the 100,000 discarded domestic animals who are destroyed annually in the UK, we're determined we shall squeeze as many animals as possible into Hurst during 2006 and make their stay as contented and comfortable as we can.
Our very best wishes to you and your families for the New Year.

This week I've had the misfortune to see two old friends grief-stricken by the loss of pets who've occupied hugely important places in their lives for many years. Both had provided loving and attentive homes to dogs that had experienced less than pleasant starts to life. In one case a German Shepherd Dog had experienced the violent and sadistic savagery that some unpleasant representatives of our race seem to enjoy inflicting upon animals. In the other a really gorgeous collie had been permanently tethered outside a run-down shack of a farm until it was close to starvation and riddled with disease. In both cases the placement of these dogs into new homes meant not only immediate remedies for their physical wounds and requirements, but also the start of loving and cherished relationships with people who genuinely cared for them. The GSD spent the remaining nine years of its life patently seeking every opportunity to express its love and appreciation of its family, whilst the collie lived for almost thirteen years as the constant and truly affectionate companion of the lovely lady who had showed it the very best facets of human behaviour. Both dogs exhibited that distinctive brand of attentive love that so patently demonstrates the particular gratitude that rescue animals express to families who introduce love into their lives. The loss of these beloved pets, within a few days of each other, has left enormous emotional chasms that both friends are finding it so difficult to come to terms with.
In science, Newton's Third Law states that "Action and reaction are equal and opposite" and it is unfortunately true that the same principle applies to love or joy! Any cherished relationship between two parties which is characterised by an intense and particular love has, sadly, the same measure of despair lurking furtively in the background. When that relationship suffers the final parting, as all mortal liaisons must, the surviving partner experiences that dreadful "equal and opposite" anguish of grief and bereavement. Sometimes one even hears comments of anticipation, as when, very recently, my hairdresser, Paula, was charmingly extolling the virtues of her husband of over twenty years and finished with the phrase "God only knows what I'd do if anything happened to him!".
But the principle of emotional payback is certainly not exclusive to human partnerships, or even to humans and anyone experienced in working with animals can provide testimony of pets who've exhibited pronounced and prolonged symptoms of grief at the loss of a human friend. So, is there an answer to the pain and suffering of such an inevitable separation? One could, of course, embark upon a life of monastic emotional content, shunning every relationship that seemed likely to lead to even a modicum of joy. But far better is to squeeze every last drop and moment of delight from your treasured companion, ensuring that when that sad time finally arrives, you have an absolute mountain of cherished recollections to use as a powerful and effective rebuff to the sadness of separation. Each time the black veil of anguish tries to cloud your mind, thrust it aside with positive memories of the joys you've been privileged to experience and simply ask yourself the question "Would I prefer not to have known and loved my old friend?" That really would represent the "equal and opposite" situation and I'm absolutely confident that, even in their present grief, my friends would never even contemplate such an alternative.

Celebrations were the order of the day on Sunday the 13th November when Ollie, a black and white spaniel/collie beat off fierce competition from over 150 other competitors to win the "X-Factor" national competition, organised by the Kennel Club's Companion Dog Club. Ollie, a former DBARC dog who was adopted in June 2004 and Julie, his owner, arrived at Earls Court knowing that Ollie was a finalist in three show categories and that a vast number of DBARC supporters were backing them using their internet votes. At 4 pm, a tremendous ovation greeted the news that Ollie's great looks and marvellous personality had scooped the major "X-Factor" prize, a triumph that reduced Julie to nervous exhaustion, but which Ollie, completely unperturbed by his new stardom, took entirely in his amiable stride. This tremendous achievement was bolstered by the fact that another DBARC laddie, Finlay, ably supported by his mistress, Faye, had also managed to secure one of the final twelve places in the competition. These successes not only pay tribute to the wonderful loving care provided by Julie and Faye to our two stars, but also gave DBARC invaluable publicity. We are hugely indebted to Julie and Faye for all the hard work involved in entering and progressing through the various stages of such a competition and should like to thank the numerous DBARC supporters who so decisively advanced the progress of our two laddies.
Success of a rather different kind attended the efforts of our staff when they finally managed to entice Molly, a lovely tortie cat, to accept our hospitality after months spent in the wild. Readers may recall that Mollie clawed her way out of a cardboard box in which she was abandoned with three kittens outside our gates during a night in mid August. She was subsequently seen on several occasions lurking around the perimeter fence and there was grave concern, not only about her poor condition, but also her ability to survive in the wild. After several weeks without a sighting, we made the assumption she'd been lost, but then she was sighted one evening foraging for food in our kitchen. Janet's carefully-laid feast of chicken proved too strong a temptation and Molly was finally taken into care, where an examination revealed a serious eye condition. Once again, prompt and skilled veterinary treatment carried the day and Molly's eyesight is now almost certain to be saved. I was privileged to witness the final stage in Molly's rehabilitation as she met young Natasha Peverell and once again I saw that old magic spell weave its empathy over them both. Molly shortly leaves for her new home with Natasha, where I suspect all her recent traumas will simply vanish in huge helpings of loving attention.
More dumping unfortunately occurred again last week, this time at Morrisons supermarket in Woosehill, where some worthless reprobate callously abandoned nine lovely, lop-eared, baby rabbits. A young boy on his way to school found the rabbits and helped round them up with help from a gentleman who very kindly brought them in to Hurst, where they were squeezed into our already overcrowded rabbit accommodation. On his way home from school, the young man found yet another young rabbit, but managed to convince his parents that he should keep this last refugee! They really are delightful creatures and we should very much appreciate anyone who wants a new and special friend to share that post-Christmas salad with.

Sincere thanks to the many kind people who responded to our appeal for loving homes for Joey and Folly, two elderly cats and Tiger, the tabby and white laddie who was dumped outside our gates. Joey and Folly duly departed, tails held high, to their new home with a charming gentleman from Reading, whilst Tiger has found his new special spot with a lovely local family. Thank you so much to both these adopters and the other delightful people who so kindly offered them homes, some of whom are now considering other animals at Hurst.
Animal health considerations have been paramount recently at the sanctuary. Firstly Snowball and Fifi, two very young kittens, arrived at Hurst with untreated eye conditions that initially seemed likely to result in at least serious sight impediment and, for one poor young thing, the possible loss of an eye. However, prompt and concerted action by Janet, our Manager, an experienced Veterinary Nurse and the excellent Veterinary services available to us eventually carried the day and both kittens have not only made a full recovery, but are now about to move out to new homes.
The second and potentially devastating episode started when a recently arrived animal was found to be suffering from a particularly virulent strain of cat 'flu that posed an immediate and very serious threat to every cat at the sanctuary. Sadly, a five month old kitten, who'd obviously contracted the disease before it manifested its presence, succumbed and died shortly afterwards. Once again, though, prompt action by Janet and that dedicated band who staff the sanctuary restricted its spread by imposing a strict quarantine and isolation procedure on the Cattery, whilst intensive and persistent veterinary treatment finally overcame the virus. The outbreak certainly proved just how essential our new Feline Isolation Unit is to our activities when, within days of its completion, it was thrust into service to provide emergency shelter for a mum with her three kittens and three other litters of kittens. John Wiggins, Ian Overton and the other volunteers who worked so hard to install the new facility can rest assured that their labours certainly brought instant and significant benefits. Makes one feel very proud just to be associated with such lovely and dedicated people!
Autumn may well fire its lethal darts into the plant life all around us, but it holds no terrors for Caron Lawrence as she effortlessly produces a constant stream of pot plants, flowers and shrubs for sale at the Centre. Caron, a Supervisor at the sanctuary, started exercising those green fingers in her spare time many months ago and now provides an endless supply of plants to raise funds on our behalf. An initial table-top of produce has now escalated into a multi-level display to entice visitors to the sanctuary and our coffers very gratefully accept the constant input of funds that her efforts generate. When, as now, Autumn strikes, Caron calmly switches her expert attention to a range of winter plants and foliage which she will be offering for sale both on site and at our Christmas Bazaar at the California Ratepayers Hall on the 10th December. Why not come along, brighten up your Christmas with some of her plants and help to reward all her hard work by providing us with some much-needed funds.

Whenever you visit an animal sanctuary, there's always that moment when you pass an accommodation unit and one particular animal reaches out and captures your heart! My recent visit to Edmonton's animal rescue centre was to be no exception! In this case, Tucker, a rather dishevelled black collie cross, ambled forward and proffered a paw, a gesture that immediately secured not only my undying friendship, but also a biscuit or two that just happened to be lurking in my trouser pocket! The instant empathy that flowered between us seemed doomed to be only transient, but then my contact at the sanctuary telephoned me on the penultimate morning of my visit to say that Tucker had been re-homed to a family just an avenue away from where I was staying. A walk around the block, this time armed with a packet of biscuits, therefore became an absolute necessity before I journeyed home. Tucker's new family kindly invited me to join them on his afternoon walk around the local lake and it was truly yet another occasion to marvel at the manner in which an animal's demeanour and personality reflect their status. The slightly crestfallen and listless dog that I'd sat with in the sanctuary had been magically replaced with a bouncy, tail-wagging, lick-anything collie that clearly understood he'd won first prize in the shape of a loving and delightful new family. However, he clearly hadn't completely forgotten his previous friends, particularly if they were biscuit-carrying people and turned up to say an enthusiastic goodbye as I was about to depart for my homeward flight. I'm sure there will be many aspects of my visit to Edmonton that will dim with time, but somehow I know my friendship with Tucker won't fade away!
Back at Hurst I found we'd once again been faced with the situation in which an animal had been dumped outside our gates during the night. This time Tiger, a tabby and white cat, came complete with a note explaining that the owner loved him dearly but was obliged to get rid of him. That love would have been far better expressed by handing Tiger in to our staff, thereby avoiding the stress caused to an animal trapped overnight in a strange environment and the possibility of more permanent damage by a prowling predator. It would also have enabled us to become familiar with Tiger's medical history and predilections, thus greatly increasing our chances of finding him the right home. We do understand that people's circumstances sometimes preclude them keeping a loved pet, but do wish that they would not evade their final responsibility to the animal by merely dumping them outside our gates! Tiger, who we suspect may be about 6 years old, therefore joins a number of other mature cats at the sanctuary that need to find new families. Older cats can make delightful companions and Joey and Folly, who feature alongside this week, are two absolutely gorgeous examples - anyone out there perhaps?
Hats off to the lovely people staffing the sanctuary once again! Merry, a Pomeranian, arrived at Hurst last week with an obviously justified reputation as a snarling savage from the nether regions! It truly was astonishing how such a tiny animal could send out such a strident message that World War Three had undoubtedly arrived! In literally just a few days, however, not only had some informed rehabilitation and tender loving training persuaded Merry that many humans were actually guys you could have a laugh with, but she had also found a new home where she will hopefully justify her name by expanding her new-found bonhomie! Another great achievement lads and lassies - well done!