With regret, we have to inform all our supporters that ARC will be wound up later this year.

Following Dyan’s tragic death a year ago, we decided to continue ARC with some success: New trustees and a committee were appointed and we began regular meetings to establish a way forward. Fundraising continued apace; links were re-established with rescue centres in Ireland; a web site was launched; we rallied for volunteers and support. However, a year on and the charity has struggled...

We have successfully rehomed several dogs in the last year, but it has proven difficult to co-ordinate without our own facilities to hold, assess and rehabilitate dogs. We advertised for foster care, but reliable fosterers proved hard to find, which is understandable given the commitment required. We came to rely on commercial boarders, but this was an expensive option, particularly for dogs that required longer stays for rehabilitation prior to rehoming. It was also difficult for volunteers to get involved.

Originally, Dyan rehomed dogs from her home, but realising this was not ideal began raising funds and searching for dedicated premises for ARC. Eventually, Lower Farm, a property near Halland, was purchased shortly before Dyan died, leaving a cottage owned by Dyan’s family and an adjacent barn, stables and land owned by ARC, courtesy of a very generous donation. Sadly, without Dyan, the charity was left in a difficult position: owning a property without the residential component legally required for kennels worth only half its purchase price, and a donor who claimed their donation was conditional on its use for kennels. After a year, this situation is still not resolved, within the rules for returning donations set out by the Charity Commission. Not only has this taken valuable time and energy away from rescue work, it has also hindered the appointment of additional trustees and members to help with the day-to-day running of the charity. In winding up the charity, we plan to transfer the ARC part of Lower Farm to the donor in lieu of the original donation.

We are pressing ahead with this year’s fundraising events, but for the benefit of other established animal charities who we believe are better placed to help animals than ourselves. We are no longer rehoming dogs directly through ARC.

ARC will be making a substantial donation to the Galway SPCA in Ireland for a new isolation unit in memory of Dyan. The GSPCA supplied ARC with dogs to be rehomed in the UK so this is a fitting tribute. Any remaining funds will be distributed to other animal charities with similar values to ARC.

The fundraising team, co-ordinated by Wendi and Julie, plan to continue raising money for other charities independently. The Dog Training classes will also continue.

We would like to thank everyone for their support and commitment to ARC over the years, and to all the people who have adopted ARC dogs and continue to give them the full and happy lives they deserve.

The ARC Trustees and Committee