Express & Star

Money flows in as animal rescue centre shuts door due to spiralling vet costs

A rescue centre for animals in Dudley has been forced to close its doors for “the foreseeable future” after growing vet bills meant it could no longer afford to take in any more homeless pets.

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One of the puppies in care at Raven's Rescue

Raven's Rescue, based in Kingswinford, has been inundated with support and donations since the news broke this week.

It needed more than £7,000 to keep afloat but has received almost £6,000 in just a few days.

Founder Sarah Price said she decided to close the doors to any more rescues temporarily as it had been "the busiest year she had ever known".

Currently Raven's Rescue looks after more than 30 dogs and cats, including a number of puppies and kittens. Sarah and her fiancée Ryan run the centre, which is based at their home, unpaid with a team of volunteers.

Sarah, age 46, said: "Over the last couple of months we've just had an influx of animals that need vet care and support. So the vet bill has just been going up and up.

"It's come to the point where we had to close the doors until we can get this bill paid. So we can't take anymore in.

"At the moment we have three puppies with cleft palates – Dakota, Henderson and Jackson – so they all need surgery.

"And the youngest, Jackson is just two weeks old, is needing bottle feeding every two hours around the clock, which is what me and Ryan are doing."

As soon as word got out that Raven's had to close its doors, the public leapt to help.

And in just three days a total of £6,000 was raised towards the vet bill – with others offering pet treats, voluntary assistance, or to help out with organising fundraising events.

Sarah, who works as a dog behaviourist, said she was "overwhelmed".

"I just want to say thank you so much to everyone – we've had people locally and who've adopted from us donating, but also complete strangers, people from all over the world," she added.

"It's just fantastic, and so overwhelming. Every penny counts, whether it's a pound of £20. We're so grateful.

"A huge thank you to our team of volunteers as well. It's been the busiest time we've ever known, and we're not sure why. It could be economic reasons or the fact people are not neutering their pets.

"There will always be a continued need for donations – it's rare that an animal will come in who doesn't need vet treatment."

To donate or offer support visit facebook.com/ravensrescueuk or call Raven's directly on 07922 204531.

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