Local animal shelter needs your help

Happy Endings Animal Shelter in Sevenoaks, which has a policy of not putting animals down, has launched an appeal to raise £10,000 to keep going.

The number of horses in the care of Happy Endings has trebled in the last two years, putting extreme pressure on the finances of the shelter and forcing them to purchase additional land to accommodate the animals.

Founder Chris Johns, who started the animal centre three years ago, told the News Shopper: "We have gone from having 15 horses to 40 in just two years, and we have adopted out 31 in that time too.

“Our finances are stretched to the limit. We are asking anyone who cares about animals to dig deep and help us pay for our new shelters."

Talking about the animals they have rescued, Mr Johns said: "They all have different stories, but most are very sad.

"Some of the horses have worked hard all their lives and we have rescued them at the 11th hour from being sold for horse meat."

The shelter rescues and rehabilitates horses, dogs, cats, rabbits and farm animals and currently has over 150 residents, some of them permanent.

For more information, to make a donation or sponsor an animal, visit www.happyendingsrescue.org.