20/06/2026
A lovely update today from one of our supporters 😊
It's over 30 years ago that I had a conversation with an elderly neighbour about her friend Diana Brimblecombe. At that time Diana was caring for and rehoming animals from her home. Apparently if she had a litter of puppies or kittens, she would pop them in the basket on her bicycle and cycle round the villages near Maidenhead in an attempt to find them loving homes. It came to light that my friend had taken on a couple of puppies from Diana and the photographs were on her mantelpiece.
It was was'nt long after this that my elderly cat sadly passed away. I got in touch with Diana and visited her home. Amongst the pleading little faces was Cleo who had produced a litter of kittens all of who has been booked and vetted for their new homes. No second thoughts about it. Cleo had a long and healthy life with me accompanied by one or two companions that joined us along the way.
I had been thinking about doing some voluntary work for awhile and so approached Diana's rescue to see if I could make myself useful. I Enjoyed the company of the other volunteers and soon made myself useful in the guinea pig and cat areas. I soon discovered what a big softy I was. Freya came into the centre, as her owner needed to go into care. She was very timid and shy , when visitors came to enquire about her suitability she just hid herself at the back of her enclosure. I couldn't resist, she and Cleo soon became the best of buddies and pals with my golden retriever Oscar.
My godson Paul was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 30. He found it difficult to come to terms with and felt very lonely at times. Animals are wonderful companions as we know and when Sophia came into the rescue centre I knew this was the was the cat for Paul. She was about 2 years old when she moved in with Paul and his family who live in a lovely rural environment. She's still going strong, probably about 17 now. A warm and affectionate cat who has made a huge difference to Paul's life.
On one of my volunteering days I was asked to prepare a pen for a cat that was coming to us from Bristol. She was found on the streets with no identification. The rescue centres locally had no availability to take her on so somebody kindly volunteered to go and collect her. The vet assessed her as being around seven years old. She was a real cutie whom I could'nt resist and she soon settled in. Sadly Shadow passed away earlier this year, probably 17 years old, my last DBARC rescue, or so I thought at the time.
My home seemed incomplete without a cat and Jess, my labrador was constantly searching the house and garden trying to find her. I visited the DBARC Website for several weeks and eventually spotted 7 year old Luna. She has been with us for four months already and is starting to rule the roost !
The team at DBARC have enabled me to give these cats a warm and loving forever home. Integrating new cats and dogs into the home needs patience and understanding and I have found its best to let them set the pace to ensure they do have a long, happy and healthy life.
