A Hull animal rescue centre owner is in a desperate race against time to raise funds for a new home, after her landlord announced plans to sell her current base. Amy Donoghue has been rescuing animals for more than 14 years, revealing how her former pet shop operation evolved into a rescue centre, caring for unwanted animals she would find dumped outside her door.
Unable to turn them away, for the last six years she has been running a rescue service from her rented home on Harley Street in Hull, rescuing and rehoming thousands of cats, dogs and other animals, each with their own story and deserving to find their forever home. Costing hundreds of pounds in food and energy bills every month, she also ensures they receive all the vets’ care they need, taking cats in to be neutered every week, but her passion for the pets has always kept her going.
Now, however, the house she rents which has been her home as well as the cats’ sanctuary — is being sold. Up against the clock, she has around three months to find a new place to live, as well as somewhere to continue the rescue centre.
Despite facing homelessness and the loss of her personal pet mission, Amy has launched a crowdfund campaign to raise the funds she needs. She has established Never Give Up Rescue CIC as a Community Interest Company, making sure all funds go directly where they’re needed.
Her goal is to raise £40,000 which will help her to buy the land she needs or a suitable property at auction so she can build purpose-built, secure facilities for the cats. Desperate to stay with the animals and keep the rescue CIC going, Amy is even prepared to live in a static caravan on land alongside the animal pens.
The Never Give Up Rescue CIC, which also has Not Just Pets Rescue shop in Hull, currently has 51 cats, three dogs and two rabbits to care for – many of which feature in this gallery below and are looking for homes – but there have been times she has had more than 115 cats at a time.
Any spends much of her time finding new homes for the animals that come in to her care, and some people come forward to foster pets. She has also been known to drive long distances to ‘rehome’ feral cats on farms as far away as Wales, or to collect unwanted dogs in Wiltshire.
“I can’t understand how anyone could hurt or abandon an animal. I think it’s disgusting, it’s horrible. I’ve been panicking, wondering where I’ll end up. As long as I’ve got the animals and they’re ok I can carry on doing what I’m doing.
“Since I started the rescue my life has never been so manic, and a lot of people say ‘why don’t you just walk Amy?’ but I just can’t. I can help so many. I get phone calls every day, and even if it’s just offering advice or helping to rescue an animal without even leaving my house, it’s such a position to be in. If I had to stop doing that I don’t think I could live with myself.”
Amy told how the property owners first told her of their intention to sell up two years ago. She was offered the chance to buy it but says she’s not in a position to get a mortgage.
She said: “I’ve approached every single person I know who could invest, to try and stay here but everyone just wants to turn it into an HMO. The only viable thing I can think of is to get some land. I don’t think we’ll raise enough to buy a property. It’s a nightmare.
“I’d have to live on site. I’m prepared to get a piece of land with planning permission so I can live in a caravan for now – I’ve got my head around that. Then I can build my pens on the land.
“I currently have 11 heated pens in my garden and they would be moveable. It’s either that or go to auction and get a run down place but we can’t do that until the money is raised.
“I’m just hoping that someone will see this appeal and say they’ve got an acre of land at the bottom of a field that I can have for cheap!
She adds in her Crowdfunder campaign: “This will give them the safe haven they deserve — a true forever home. Every penny raised will be ringfenced strictly for this cause — to purchase land or a property and create a permanent rescue centre.
“Together, we can make sure Never Give Up Rescue CIC continues to live up to its name — because every life is worth saving.”
To make a donation visit the Crowdfunder page here, where you can also contact Amy if you want to adopt an animal.
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