Joan Bentley, founder of the Pet Samaritans Animal Sanctuary passed away just before christmas 2016. She had been battling illness with cancer for sometime but was determined to carry on with rescuing animals and wildlife right up until going into hospital. She was an animal lover, devoting her life to rescuing animals and campaigned for many years for the well being and happiness of all animals through education. She was particularly fond of cats and was never seen without some feline companion in her arms or by her side. In 2013, she was recognised for her service to the local community by winning a prestigous Peoples award.

In memory of Joan and her last wishes before she passed away, we would like to transform the ‘Cat Cabin’ as she called it, into something wonderful. She spent most of her days there, tending to cats and rescued animals. She left drawings and instructions for the project and we would like to dedicate it to her in memory of all the animals she saved and the lives of people she touched. We are optimistic with your help, we can make something truly special for her and the animals at the sanctuary.

Joan had started writing a book about all the happy endings and tails from the Animal Sanctuary over the years.  Here's an extract from one of her writings about a dog left to freeze on New year's eve.

Tiny Tim

We’d stayed up till after midnight on New Year’s Eve, not to celebrate but in case of fireworks. We had one or two dogs in who were terrified of them. It turned out to be a quiet night though and it wasn’t until just after 4.0am that we were woken up by the phone ringing. On and on it went until I stumbled out of bed to pick it up. “Hello,” I managed to say. I was still half asleep.

“I’ve found a dog,” a gruff voice told me. “Oh sorry, we don’t open till ten,” I began. He broke me off, “You’ll have to tek him, he might be dead.”
There was panic in the man’s voice. “Has he been knocked down?” I asked thinking about a road traffic accident. “No, he’s frozen stiff. Been tied up, all night by the look of things.”
“Good heavens.” I found it hard to contemplate this, it was a bitterly cold night with a hard frost. “Bring him – straight away.” The man knew our address, he was on his way to work when he’d noticed the dog tied up to a lampost. Only the yellow light had saved the dog, if he’d been in shadow he wouldn’t have seen him and would have driven past.

I jumped out of bed and pulled a dressing gown on and turned up the heating. I fixed a room up in the sanctuary nearest to reception with blankets and food bowls. I was ready. What sort of dog was he? I hadn't thought to ask but the room was big enough for any breed. A few minutes later the car crunched to a halt on the icy ground and a figure got out. I couldn't see the dog though and with a sinking feeling, thought it must have been too late. What animal could survive being tied up outside in this weather?
I opened the door and a thick set man rushed in. There was no dog on a lead but he pulled open his work jacket and thrust a bundle of clothes at me. "He's froze. I couldn't think what to do." The 'bundle' was a tiny dog wrapped up in torn clothes. I gentley pulled the layers back. The dog's tiny body was lifeless and very cold. With one hand, I plugged in a heat pad and then rubbed him to try to get his circulation going. One eye flickered, he was still alive. I lay him on the pad and tucked a fleece around him while I made up some recovery milk for him. We use it on orphan hedgehogs and premature kittens, it's good for any frail animal.
The dogs recuer was watching anxiously, hoping I could do some sort of miracle I thought. The heat from the pad crept into the dogs coat and I syringed a drop or two of warm milk into his mouth. The first drop trickled out and then he licked the next few drops. A good sign.

At first I'd thought that the dog was a puppy but then realised that although he was so tiny he was full grown. He was a chichaua x, black and tan with a cream bib and flash on his face, white paws. He would have been a handsome little chap but was just like a skeleton, emaciated with bones almost pushing through the skin.

"Where did you find him?" I asked. The man told me again that the dog had been tied up to a lampost by a thick rope. "What about the houses nearby? He must belong to someone." His rescuer shook his head. "All factory units." There's no one lives round there." He had to go, his shift was starting. I thanked him and he promised to come back on his way home from work to see how the dog was going on.

"Do you think he'll make it?" he asked. I shook my head and turned away, tears were welling in my eyes. Such a tiny scap, tied up too long, freezing to death. "It'll take a miracle," I told him.

What happened to Tiny Tim? Did he make it? We'll post some more updates soon. Thankyou from all the animals at the Pet Samaritans.