The Reverend Doctor Caroline Wilkins PhD
Lyndhurst Ministry Team - Bereavement Chaplain
ECC+C Animal Welfare Chaplain
A message from Caroline+
I rescued (with a lot of help from some wonderful people) a horse called Beauty when I saw her at a horse sale in a horrendous state and due to go to the abertoire the following morning. I have two horses of my own and was not looking to get a third, but I couldn’t let Beauty die. Nor could I let her get taken away to any other uncertain fate. So I had to rescue her! With help, I bought her from the dealer that kept telling me she was worth £x's to “have her throat cut”. We took her straight to my horse’s place from the sale and then on to a temporary home for her recovery.
I’ve worked in animal rescue for nearly 20 years on a volunteer basis. I started as a volunteer at Essex Horse and Pony Protection Society when I was 18. When I moved to Southampton to do my PhD, I volunteered as a dog walker at the Blue Cross. When I finished my PhD, I developed a web database system for animal shelters and rescued animals called RescuePet in 2002.
For the last year, I have been a volunteer with Doris Banham Dog Rescue – a charity that rescues dogs off death row in council pounds. My main job with Doris Banham is to help find rescue spaces for death row dogs. I am also the web developer of The Staffy Campaign.
You can contact me at info@rescuepet.org
RescuePet objectives
| To provide a central system where rescue shelters can enter details of animals in need of good homes and the public can search to find the animal that suits them. |
| To promote the adoption of rescued animals. |
| To help shelters get animals adopted. |
| To promote the image of the rescued aminal |
| To promote responsible and ethical pet ownership |
How to help
| Use RescuePet if you are thinking of taking on a pet. |
| Tell other people about RescuePet and encourage them to use the site if they are thinking of taking on a pet. |
| Put links to RescuePet on your own web site and encourage people to use them. |
| Make RescuePet your home page so you can catch any news or appeals. |
| Find out if your local shelter is using RescuePet. If not, please tell them about it! Maybe they would be grateful for someone to take photos and/or undertake the task of entering pet details into our database. |