The charity, Heavens Gate Animal Rescue Centre was originally set up in 1983 at West Henley, Langport, Somerset. This was a large site, some 27 acres. It ran as a mixed animal rescue shelter under that charity name until 1991 when the charity could no longer continue to afford such a large rescue centre.

A further shelter at Enmore near Bridgwater was also being run at the same time and that continued for some time before the charity finally bought the current site at Pylle. Originally boarding kennels, the site offered an income as well as facilities for continued welfare.

The house is home to four live-in members of staff and two others also live on site which is never left unattended.

Happy Landings accepts most animal types dependant on spaces available, from mice through to cats and dogs and sheep and goats with the occasional pig. Wildlife are brought in by the public and simple cases can be cared for, the more unusual will be referred to specialist centres or vets. All domestic animals will be assessed, if necessary, re-trained or rehabilitated where necessary and homes sought. Every home is pre-homechecked and a support system is in place for adopters once they have their new pets. A post homecheck follows up in the animal with further support if necessary.

Once an animal is placed with the charity, the ownership always remains with the charity which will guarantee a place for the animal if ever needs it. Full contracts are required with every adoption and there is provision within the contract to repossess if things go wrong, which is rare.

The boarding section of the charity is particularly busy with demand for spaces being very high. The strength of the boarding aspect is the competence and quality of the staff whose experience, devotion and responsibility gained from working in welfare, ensures that each animal placed with the charity for boarding purposes receives the best possible care. Although the kennel and cattery facilities are not the most sophisticated, customers recognise the staff strengths.

The boarding section aims to earn a large part of the income required to cover welfare expenses but the remainder must be raised by fundraising.

In 1998-99 the charity reached a crisis whereby funding for continued work was seriously jeopardised. Together with the illness of the Founder/Manager, Annabelle Walter, it meant that a fresh approach had to be taken with a view to securing the future of the charity.

Funding for the welfare work is divided into two parts : core funding and projects.

Core funding pays for the day to day costs, feeds, wages, services etc, This is actually the most important part of funding.

Staff represent the most important factor in any rescue centre. You can feed, groom, walk, water etc, the animals or you can `care’ for them. Each one has a different requirement, just as humans have different characters, so do animals. The staff learn to recognise their characteristics, pass information to other staff who in turn will add their own information. Thus each animal will receive the care that is due to them.

Our next highest outlay is veterinary fees. Yes we still have to pay much the same as anyone else who takes an animal to the vet. Inoculations, neutering, illness etc, all need to be seen to and currently our veterinary fees are well over £18,000 per year.

Food is our next largest cost where we spend about £1,000 per month. Electricity – high cost –heat lamps for cats and dogs are put on as soon as the summer temperatures drop, just as if they are in a home that is heated for humans – it is what they are used to. Some animals will require more than others, the elderly, the close coated, etc. Electricity adds up to a few more thousand pounds.

Service – Happy Landings offers not just a `yes we have room for your animal’ but also to try to establish WHY it needs to come into rescue in the first place . Is there a problem that can be overcome to prevent this upheaval and upset (both to animals and humans too)? We can spend much time in trying to offer support in this way – this time also represents money.

Then comes project funding.

This must be raised separately so as not to rob the core funding. That is, it should come from totally different sources.

At Happy Landings, although the site had previously been a boarding kennels and cattery, the buildings (kennels in particular) were sub-standard when they were built some 25 years previously.

The kennels is an urgent and very serious project, probably the largest on site.

Once new kennels are achieved, the redundant building, although not good enough in design or standard for kennelling, could be re-used for another purpose – perhaps a small animal block, or a central hay/straw storage area which is seriously needed. The remaining buildings in the line - The Rescue Block, currently holding the ferrets and all the cages, hutches and other equipment, and the farm animal feed store, - need to be looked at to see how best we can use the area and possibly re-build.

We would like to add a further cattery to be used for boarding only, in order that the building we are working on at present, can be used for rescue only. We now have an area in front of the existing cattery where an enclosed "garden" area has been created.

The dog isolation areas are not good but could just be re-furbished. The goat sheds need total replacement for improved comfort of the animals and easy cleaning for the staff.

2007 saw the building works start for our new Multi-Animal Rescue Block. This building should be completed by the end of the year. We are looking forward to being able to have more animals and with them all in one place, we will be able to run more efficiently. Funds were raised to pay for the building, but we now need to find more funds to equip and run the block.