30/07/2025
We recently had a lovely talk with one of the community outreach officers for a larger rescue in the North and have come away with some great ideas that align with our ethos and would help us to better support the community.
From the beginning, we have been all about doing whatever we can to keep animals in their homes wherever possible. Owners who have come to us with financial problems, housing issues etc, we always offer to foster animals or to provide food (if we have capacity).
On average, an animal costs anywhere from £100-£500 to feed and house during their time with us. Comparatively, we can support owners in their home for a significantly lower cost. We have limited capacity at the rescue as it is, so we can't always take animals in regardless of the circumstances.
As a result, we will be shifting the way we work slightly. We'll still be rescuing and rehoming, but we'll also be adding an additional strong to the bow with some community support programmes:
- Food pantry: We'll be setting up a pet food pantry outside the shop. Anyone in need can take from this pantry, and anyone in the community will be able to add sealed pet food and other supplies to the box to donate to others. This will include dog and cat food as we receive it
- Offering more in home support: We're going to be offering help/support to source enclosure upgrades for animals in need as well as advising on maintenance and other issues. This could include finding a secondhand shed to upgrade rabbit housing, or collecting a vivarium to upgrade a leopard gecko
- Creating learning opportunities: We'll be offering short courses led by experts to help you prepare for a new pet. These courses will involve the whole family and will teach you everything you need to know to set your pet up well from the beginning
- Re-starting our second hand pet supply scheme: When we first opened, we offered a trade-in scheme where people could swap smaller enclosures for the next size up, or purchase lightly used supplies for a discount. Our eventual goal will be to start this programme up again!
So, what can you do to support us?
- Volunteer as a driver to help collect and deliver supplies
- Spread the word by contacting local businesses who may be willing to donate time or supplies to help
- Help us find a box for our pantry! We're looking for a waterproof outdoor storage box, or someone who can build us a box/cupboard set up to store pantry donations outside the shop
- Bring us your donations!
We really love Paignton and the local community and we're looking forward to doing even more to help where we can!
