Shropshire pet rescue centre's struggle to survive
An animal rescue centre in north Shropshire has said it is struggling to survive as donations are so low and bills are increasing.
Grinshill Animal Rescue, near Wem, costs more than £40,000 a year to run and usually bosses have about £3,000 in the bank to get them through winter, but this year the account is 'basically at nothing' and staff have no more fundraising events planned until March.
Manager of the rescue centre, Jenny Martinez, said it had struggled before but things had never been this bad.
The centre has been running for 22 years.
Mrs Martinez said the drop in donations coupled with the rise in bills had put staff in a difficult position.
She said: "We run totally on fundraising and donations from the public. It costs about £41,000 a year to run, plus about £8,000 we spend each year on vets.
"Bills have escalated, things like the heating bills, and overheads have gone up but money has gone down.
"We normally have about £3,000 in the fund for winter but our bank account is only in the hundreds at the moment. We are basically at nothing and we have to get to April.
"I hope it wouldn't go so far that the centre has to close, it is just a struggle."
Mrs Martinez said the centre had bills that it was unable to pay and she put the decline in donations down to the economic climate.
"People give us dog food and we are very grateful to everyone that helps," she added.
"I don't normally ask for money. We have struggled over a couple of winters before but nothing like this."
There are four volunteers and a number of dog walkers who help out at the centre.
It can hold up to 18 cats and has room for 26 dogs. Some of the dogs the centre takes on are pets with behavioural difficulties so they tend to spend a long time there.
This year the centre has housed about 150 long-term dogs and bosses said they were not short of animals to take care of.
