Petplan April prize draw winner: Wild Acre Rescue

Petplan’s monthly £500 prize draw continues to help dozens of charities continue their great work – and this month’s winners, Wild Acre Rescue, are a brilliant example.

Based in Cradley Heath in the West Midlands, Wild Acre Rescue takes ill-treated, abandoned and homeless animals into care with the aim of moving them into ‘forever homes’.

We spoke to one of the founders of the charity, Angela Gelenscer, to find out more about their work…

Hi Angela, how long have you been involved with Wild Acre Rescue?

“I worked with other animal charities before but this is the sixth year that we’ve been running Wild Acre Rescue. I set it up with my friends Gena Jones and Lyndsey Smith after we decided we could do things differently and, hopefully, better than some of the other charities we worked for.

“Gena deals with all the difficult things and Lyndsey takes the dogs out and services the foster homes. I like to take in the pregnant bitches and hand rear puppies. We all have different things we’re good at which is why it works so well.”

What is a typical day like at Wild Acre Rescue?

“It’s a very hectic place to be. We get lots of calls asking us to take in animals throughout the day, but a lot of our time is spent caring for the pets – we specialise in looking after young, old and really poorly animals – so that is one of our biggest concerns.”

What will the £500 cheque be used for?

“We’re over the moon to have won the prize draw and the money will come in really useful. It will be used to help one of our Staffie-crosses, Kelly, recover from a road accident. She fractured her spine and suffered a bad paw injury and we’ve been looking after her since January. She’s now ready for a new home which is brilliant.”

What does the future hold for the charity?

“We’d love to open a sanctuary but, as we’re completely self-funded, we know that will be a big ask.

"We’ve got around 20 brilliant volunteers who we couldn’t do this without and we need to make sure people keep volunteering and helping us as much as they can. If anybody reading would like to help us out, please call – any help is gratefully received!”

Have you helped rehome a neglected pet? Share your story with us below...