After years of working and looking forward to retirement Barry and his wife, Yvonne, decided to sell their business and home in the UK and retire to Portugal.  They had always loved animals and had not realised just how much their retirement was going to change as they would became an important part of their life. 

The first animal to come into their care was a stray bitch.  From then on the dogs continued to arrive.  Next came Oscar saved from the prospects of being shot as he was no longer needed then came Oliver, Barney and Mister.  From then on they seemed to attract all the local strays in the area.  They came across an injured dog we named Ben as they had found him caught in a trap on a bend in the road.  The longer Barry and Yvonne were here the more they began to realise just how much the animals were terribly neglected and were in need of love and care.  It was at this stage in 1993 they decided to build a community kennel.  

Not only did they re-house the stray dogs and puppies but started to acquire kittens.   They developed a reputation in the area and soon the locals were bringing strays, injured and animals they no longer needed to their door.   Barry and Yvonne expanded and took in other animals 2 sheep called “Benson & Hedges” and 2 goats called “Clive & Maud”.   They also had to increase the size of the kennels and the cattery but when they reached a total of 50 residents in the kennels they decided funding did not permit any further expansion and more animals meant the quality of care they could give was under pressure.  They have had a few tragedies along the way when someone poisoned Oliver, Barney and Mister all within a matter of days but this did not deter their passion to look after and care for these animals.

A donkey joined the fold named Doogle who was so weak he had to be carried, he survived under their care for a couple of years.  He was quickly followed by another seven all had been rescued from a terrible fate.  Barry and Yvonne's care, devotion and hard work over the years have been truly rewarding for them.  They have been totally self-funded as they do not receive any funding other than the kind help of close freinds and family who have willingly given their time to help work in the kennels and raise money, as well as public support, these have enabled Barry and Yvonne to care and give love to many helpless animals that would otherwise have no quality of life.  The Center has a number of initiatives to help fund them, can you help?