If your dog or cat has gone missing please get in touch with us.  Even if you live miles outside our area, stray pets are often brought to us.   Please tell us the location your dog or cat was last seen and a description, including any identifying features.

Is your pet microchipped?   We routinely check this out.  Unfortunately, we often find that the registered owner refuses to acknowledge their pet - 'Black labrador?'   'Yes, you had him microchipped as a puppy.  'No, we've never had a dog.'   'But it's your address.....'  'It's not ours and we're not having him back!'

We usually give up at this stage.    Of course, there are lots and lots of happy endings and it's great to be able to re-unite a missing pet with his owner.  

We had a call from a vet yesterday.  She sounded agitated which was strange, nothing much usually freaks a vet out does it?  When she went on, we could see why.  A man who wasn't a client, had brought a dog in to be destroyed.  For no reason.  That's it - I'll pay the money - you put him to sleep.  

'What's wrong with him?' she asked.  'Nothing, I don't want him any more.' 

So the vet examined the dog.  He was fit and healthy and wagged his tail and was very friendly and sure enough, there was nothing wrong with him at all.   She refused to put the dog down and suggested the man re-home him. 

At this stage the man changed his story and said the dog was aggressive and had bitten someone.  By this time all the vet staff had been fussing the dog and it seemed like the friendliest mutt they'd ever seen.   The vet told him she still didn't want to do this.

Then the bloke became angry and snatched the dog back and said he was going to take him home and 'do the job himself' - he told her he was going to beat him to death with a shovel.   Then things got very heated.   A tug of war over the dog,while a member of staff rang through to another animal sanctuary but they couldn't help. 

Fortunately someone thought about the Pet Samaritans and gave us a call.  As soon as we heard what was happening, we told them 'hang on to that dog'  no matter what - we were on our way.   It was a fifteen minute journey - would we be too late?  And how would we get the dog away from the owner? 

We have over thirty goats in the Sanctuary and they're great characters.  Some are Saanen (of Swiss origin), some Anglo-Nubian (the biblical goats from hot countries) and some are a bit of in-between.

If my mother wants to sit in a box, then so do I!

These two lovely ladies are called Myrtle (on the left) and Mischa.  They are permanent sanctuary residents and are also mother and daughter.   We are lucky to have so many lovely cats - and we are happy to take cats in for their retirement, we would never put any healthy cat to sleep.

Mischa was originally known as  'the salt-box cat' because we first heard of her plight when a lady living on an estate noticed that a cat had given birth to a litter of kittens in a salt box.  

Jack Spratt

I'm sure most people will have already heard of me.  I've been at the sanctuary for over a year now and I'm quite famous.  My picture has been in the newspapers, people come to see me and there's always an article or two about me in the newsletter.

If you want to know how I came to be the most important resident, (editor's note - one of the most important residents) it's because I was in such a bad way when they found me.

Most dogs I've talked to are pretty mushy about their puppyhood, their mommy, feedtimes, fighting with their brothers and sisters.  Being fussed over and petted when they go to their new home.   I can't remember any of that.  The first thing I remember is waking up at the vet's surgery.  

There were bright lights and shiny walls and strange instruments and it smelled horribly of disinfectant - ugh!   It was pretty uncomfortable too.   I was on a hard table, hooked up to tubes and drips and with needles stuck in me.  I didn't try to move - everything hurt.  What was even worse was that I could hear the vet saying that he didn't expect me to make it.   To tell you the truth, at that stage I agreed with him.

The Dog Wardens had fetched these people from the animal sanctuary (they call them the pet samaritans) to see me.  They had to find out if these folk wanted to try to save me.  It was all to do with Big Bill, whoever he was.  I could see from everybody's faces that if the pet sams gave in to Big Bill, it was a one way ticket to the Canine Valhalla.  But I didn't have to wait for them to answer -whatever it took, whoever they had to square up to, they wanted the vet to do his best.

St Bernard's Animal Sanctuary is home to over one hundred animals from goats to stray dogs. We are run by volunteers except for one part time worker. Like many other small sanctuaries in the same position, we continue to do day to day pet rescue, taking in stray dogs and cats, all the dogs picked up by the Borough Council Dog Wardens, abandoned animals and those that have been injured or knocked down on the roads. It's a huge commitment and we have no government funding. 

Fund raising - we can't do it without you. We have only one paid member of staff, everyone else at the Sanctuary is a volunteer. There are over 100 animals in the sanctuary - ponies, horses, goats, sheep, chickens, turkeys, dogs, cats, hedgehogs, birds, wildlife .... well, you get the idea. We always try to help and try never to turn any animal needing us away. We never put any animal to sleep except on veterinary advice. All the dogs from Chesterfield Borough Council Dog Wardens are brought in here - we see a lot of very sad cases but then there are lots and lots of happy endings. We have no government aid and getting enough funds in to keep going is always difficult. Can you help us?

As we only have one full time wage bill to pay we are able to use ALL of the fund we raise for the care of the animals and for our campaigns against animal cruelty. 

 

We Recycle

To help raise funds for the animals, we turn unwanted items into food, medical care and facilities for the many unwanted pets and animals we look after. Send us your unwanted mobile phones, print cartridges, clothes, shoes, towels, shoes, handbags, teddybears and soft toys.

We also need dog and cat food - especially for senior cats and dogs and, at the other end of the scale, we need canine and feline growth food for youngsters, kittens, juveniles, young dogs.

We always need shredded paper for bedding. Dog coats, leads, new cat beds and baskets. Cleaning materials. First aid items. Bales of wood shavings.

Carrotts and apples are favourites for the ponies and goats. We buy £100.00+ of haylage for them each week.

Keeping the animals warm and keeping up with the ongoing maintenance of kennels is always a priority.

Items can be brought to the sanctuary during opening hours : Mon to Sat - 10.0 to 3.0pm, Sunday 11.0 to 3.0pm or please post if you live too far away to call round.

Sponsorship

If you are about to embark on a sponsorship event and plan on raising money for a charity, we'd love you to do it on behalf of the Pet Samaritans. It's a great way to raise much needed funds for all the animals and have fun at the same time. Here are some great ideas for sponsorship.

• Running/marathons
• Treks/walks
• Cycling
• Swimming
• Triathlons
• Parachuting/skydiving
• Everything else sporty

Of course you don't have to be sporty to take part in a sponsorship. You could just honour the memory of someone you love by collecting money for the animals. If you would like to support the Pet Samaritans, please contact us with your idea and your planned sponsorship. We'd love to feature you on our website and help in anyway with your activity. 

Make a Donation

Of course we like to rattle the begging bowl from time to time and a donation goes a long way to keeping the Sanctuary running and improving our abilities to cope with the many cruelty cases we see. All donations, no matter how small, are welcome. You can donate wherever you see the paypal buttons on this site. 

or by sending cheques, postal orders direct to the sanctuary (address below) and made payable to St.Bernard's Animal Sanctuary.

St.Bernard's Animal Sanctuary

Broomhill Road

Old Whittington

Chesterfield

Derbyshire

S41 9EA

A huge thank you to all the kind people who help us and to our sponsors - we couldn't do any of this without you.

It's without a doubt that animals are more intuitive than us.  They sense danger, take fright when storms are coming, even domestic pets have sudden fancies that often prove to be uncannily accurate.   One Pet Samaritan told us how her psychic dog saved her life.

True stories of pets with extra sensory powers are in the latest edition of the Pet Samaritans Newsletter.  Lots of pet help tips and info - ponies, goats, chickens, latest on catnapping, pictures, rescue updates etc.  It's £1.25 inc. postage.  Please send cheque, p.o. or paypal online.

Here's an extract:

My psychic dog saved my life

I used to take Jinny, my Staffi x, the same walk every afternoon before my husband came home from work.  One day last Spring, she stopped at the corner of the road, where we used to turn on to a lane.  Jinny whined and wanted to go back.  I felt really cross with her.  She was shaking and making such a fuss but short of dragging her, there was no way I could get her to go on.  I gave in and we turned back.

I'd had Jinny from a six month old puppy and she is very greedy.  I thought she wanted to skip the walk and go home for her tea.    When my husband came home half an hour later, he told me he was releived to see me.

I asked him why.   Apparently a lorry had been delivering some steel beams to a unit on the lane and it had shed it's load on to the footpath just where I usually walked.

My husband had seen the commotion and knowing that was where I walked, he'd gone to see if anyone was hurt.  If Jinny hadn't persuaded me to come back home, we might both have been killed.

More extra-sensory psychic pet stories in The Pet Samaritans Newsletter - for your copy please email or write to:

First kittens this year

Of the three pregnant cats in the sanctuary at the present time, we thought that Little Orphan Annie would be the last to give birth.  Sleek, slim line and with only a modest bulge, she looked several weeks off - but appearances can be deceptive and yesterday she unexpectedly produced four fine babies.

It's impossible to forecast whether rescued cats will be 'good' mums or not.  Some are very maternal and others can be a bit indifferent, especially with a first litter.   But our little Annie is a natural.  She had her kits over the space of a few hours and without any fuss or problems. 

We'd set her up with a choice of kittening boxes.  Large cardboard boxes are best, with a lid if possible and Annie picked out the one she liked.   She's feeding them, licking them and just like us, she thinks they're gorgeous.  Three all blacks and one black and white.

It's best not to disturb newborns if you can help it.  The transfer of scent from us to the kits can be disturbing for a mum who is only just getting the hang of things.  For the same reason we don't allow visitors until the new family are well established.

Who's going to be next?   The tortie coloured cat has been named Tansy and she is huge.  If she gets any fatter she'll burst.  But she's skipping about and looking in good form and ..... we'll have to wait and see.   The tabby and white girl is still shy and keeping a low profile.  New little lives on the way, it's exciting isn't it?

If we were worried about getting this wild thing into a cat carrier and carting her off to the vet, we needn't have been.  In spite of all the initial fighting frenzy it was easy - we now know that this is no feral feline.   This claws-out spitfire suddenly gave in and let us stroke her and once she'd backed down, the hissess turned to purrs and sighs of relief.   So she was somebody's baby, must have been a long time ago.  Isn't it sad that she's been out in the cold for so long.   Don't suppose we'll ever know the full story, but she certainly remembers what it's like to be loved.

Picking her up?  Not quite no problem but she let us do it and getting her to the vet wasn't the trauma we anticipated.  That she is still malnourished and exhausted no doubt contributed to her quick capitulation.  She's as light as a feather.

What did the vet make of her?   He gave her a thorough examination - she's not suffering from any disease that he can find so that is the good news.  Her condition is very poor and it's likely that she hasn't managed to hunt successfully enough to feed herself over a long period. 

The sticking out tooth - let's leave it for the time being until she feels better and has put some condition on.

What about the matted coat?   If the knots are left long term, they can pull the skin away from underlying tissue so that is something that needs tackling.  But again, not just yet.

There are one or two puzzling factors about this dainty little lady - she has a fat tummy.  ????  You know what we're thinking.  But it could be worms and malnutrition.  So a wormer has been prescribed and we'll have to wait and see.  We hope she's not in kitten because her condition is so poor.  The outlook wouldn't be good.

Another puzzle is her age.   She doesn't look like a youngster.   The vet told us that her teeth are those of an older cat, but her eyes are young looking.   She does have beautiful, clear eyes - they look sad and inward at the moment but when she's perked up a bit, they'll be stunning.

So what are we to do with her?   No medication, apart from the wormer, she needs that good old fashioned remedy - lots of T.L.C. - tender loving care.  No problem.

The thin dog we had brought in last week is now matched by a small cat in an equally bad way.

She was brought in yesterday by a man who had been watching this little lady for a long time - she's been living rough and no one could get near here.   He was surprised when he saw her sitting by a garden shed and not moving.  Even more suprised when he managed to pick her up. 

There was some hissing and claws out when we lifted her out of the carrier and put her in a cosy pen.  It wasn't hard to see why she's been caught though - too frail to put up any resistance - she's just skin and bone.  She doesn't want to be touched and is summoning the last of her strength to say 'keep away from me'.  Is she a feral cat who's just too poorly to put up a real fight?

We don't want to upset her but did manage to quickly check her over - she's worse than she looks.  The long hair is covering bones that are almost sticking through the skin, she's dehydrated, emaciated, her matted fur is sticking to her skin in clumps and there's a tooth sticking out of her mouth at a right angle to her jaw.  

She wants to eat and nibbled a tiny piece of chicken but then she gave up.   This is such a pretty cat, long haired, well marked and beautiful eyes.  They're pretty sorrowful now though - we're off to the vet.