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Willows Patrons
Paul Rodgers, founding member and singer/songwriter with Free, Bad Company, The Firm, who resurrected Queen to tour and
record with them from 2004 – 2008, and his wife, former Miss Canada, Cynthia Kereluk have become Patrons of Willows
Animal Sanctuary. Singer, songwriter Paul Rodgers formed iconic bands Free and Bad Company. He and Led Zeppelin guitarist
Jimmy Page formed The Firm. Queen and Paul Rodgers joined forces to tour and record before he returned to his Solo career.
Dr Rodgers an Ivor Novello Award winner has released 36 albums and sold in excess of 90 million in his 45 year career.
Cynthia Kereluk Rodgers is a former Miss Canada and Host/Writer of TV's highly ranked international exercise show the
Everyday Workout 1986-2000.This Simon Fraser University graduate is an artist and animal rescuer who in the past three
years has personally rescued/rehomed more than 70 animals.
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Sponsor an Animal
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| Donate to Willows |
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| Willows on YouTube |
Willows Wish List
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Great Ethical Insurance for Your Pet
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YouTube - Minature Shetland Foal born at Willows!
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You can now donate to Willows by text message - it's simple,
Text WILL38 and the amount you wish to donate to
70070 i.e. WILL38£10 to
70070.
All mobile operators will be passing on 100% of the text donation to the charity via JustGiving. |
| Willows on Ebay |
Rory - left tied to a tree for two weeks . More >
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Faramir, one of three abandonded and left to starve on
Shetland. More > |
Clyde, saved from slaughter. More > |
Prince needed a new home. More > |
Tamara, booked for euthanasia. More > |
Simrnoff Ice - a domestic tragedy lead to him needing a
new home. More > |
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Willows is Open for 2013 - 3 Star Scottish Visitor
Attraction!
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About Willows
Animal Sanctuary
Willows Animal Sanctuary is the largest
sanctuary in
Aberdeenshire
and will try to help any animal in distress. We operate
a strict no kill policy and only euthanise an animal on
veterinary advice. We look after over 300 animals
including more than 70 horses, ponies and donkeys,
approximately 60 cats and dogs and many reptiles as well
as over 100 farm animals and birds. We particularly
try to help horses and ponies who would otherwise
face slaughter. We are totally
dependent on donations, legacies and grants from
benevolent organizations to keep the sanctuary running. Unlike larger charities we have no
reserves of money and are desperately short of funds. We
specialise in helping elderly or more vulnerable animals
that have already been refused help by well known large
national charities, but we can only continue to help
needy animals with your support!
Penny Has a Beautiful Colt Foal!
Update! Penny the Shetland mare, rescued from a very uncertain fate earlier in the year, has given birth to a beautiful colt foal!
Here is Penny's story. We were contacted recently by a very desperate lady who urgently needed help with two Shetland pony mares and a filly foal. The lady suffers from an auto immune disease and has become allergic to daylight which had made looking after her ponies very difficult. She also expressed concern that the paddock they were in, which had looked good in summer, was now so wet that the ponies were sometimes up to their hocks in mud and she feared that two of the ponies were again in foal. Her only other option had been to put the ponies into a market which would risk a very uncertain future for them. The ponies were quite a way from Willows on the border between Perth and Angus, but Animal Health were extremely helpful with facilitating the move to Willows. It was also some time since their feet had been trimmed and all in all Animal Health felt that the sooner they could be removed the better. They all arrived safely and have been checked and blood tested by our vets. The filly foal has been named Daisy and the two mares are called Ruby and Penny.
Amber Comes to Willows
We were recently contacted by a lady who had accepted this pony (a 16 yr. old 13.2 Arab cross Welsh) in good faith in December 2012 as
'free to a good home'.
She arrived in a very poor state and hasn’t managed to gain weight over the last few months.
Her owner felt that she had done everything possible to help this pony but unfortunately she could no longer keep her and reluctantly had to consider sending her to the abattoir. When we heard this sad story we agreed to accept Amber and she arrived here in early May. She has been checked by our vets and placed on a special diet and we will do all that we are able to make her well!
Three Shetland Mares Rescued
We have just (24 April) given urgent sanctuary to three Shetland mares. They had been rescued from the mart by a family
who saved them from going to be slaughtered, despite the fact one may be in foal. When the family saw where the ponies
were destined to end up, they pointed out to the meat trader that one looked pregnant and he responded with “Oh, they’ll
soon hoik that out of her when she’s killed” The family felt they had no choice but to intervene and rescue them from
this terrible fate. Unfortunately they were unable to keep them permanently so they brought them to Willows.
The poor ponies are in terrible condition. They are matted with manure, crawling with lice and their overgrown feet need
urgent attention. They are very frightened and one of them is very thin.They are currently receiving veterinary treatment.
3 Little Pigs went wee wee wee all the way home to Willows!
These pigs were at a petting farm in Norfolk that was closed down. The owners sold off the 'exotic' animals (lamas etc.) on
Gumtree and then shot the farm animals himself. However, apparently no-one wanted the pigs. The owner was in a pub and was overheard
to say he was going to shoot them too, and the person who heard this alerted an animal rescue network who say they tried every sanctuary
in England and no one was able to help them. The animal rescue network raised enough money for the piggie’s transport to Willows
and they arrived at Willows at the end of March 2013.
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Rescued Shetland Ponies
- Ruby, Penny & Daisy
We were contacted recently by a very desperate lady
who urgently needed help with two Shetland pony mares
and a filly foal. The lady suffers from an auto immune disease and has become allergic to daylight which had made looking after her ponies very difficult.
She also expressed concern that the paddock they were in, which had looked good in summer, was now so wet that the ponies were sometimes
up to their hocks in mud and she feared that two of the ponies were again in foal. Her only other option had been to put the ponies
into a market which would risk a very uncertain future for them. The ponies were quite a way from Willows on the border between Perth
and Angus, but Animal Health were extremely helpful with facilitating the move to Willows. It was also some time since their feet had
been trimmed and all in all Animal Health felt that the sooner they could be removed the better. They all arrived safely and have
been checked and blood tested by our vets and we await the results of their pregnancy tests with interest! The filly foal has been
named Daisy and the two mares are called Ruby and Penny. If anyone would like to make a donation to help with their care we would
be very grateful! We can only continue to help animals like these with your support and we are eternally grateful for all the help we receive.
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Rescued Thoroughbred Mare
- Star
We rescued a Thoroughbred mare who was actually booked to be slaughtered by
a knackery. We were utterly horrified at this news
and were desperate to help the poor horse. We were initially told that she was to be slaughtered because she wouldn’t go into a stable but
she actually has quite a lot more behavioural problems and her previous owners (who are in their sixties) felt unable to cope with her any more.
As she was a Christmas rescue we have decided to rename her Star. Star will stay here, at least until her behaviour has improved and we will use the gentle, reward based system of clicker training to help retrain her. If anyone would like to make a donation to help with the cost of saving Star then please contact us. |
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The Animal Assisted Therapy Unit at Willows
Willows helps many vulnerable people with its animal assisted therapy programme. The concept of allowing rescued animals to help vulnerable people on the road back to health is very innovative and has been independently evaluated and shown to be highly beneficial.The therapeutic placements and corporate team building days include equine management, animal husbandry, therapeutic music sessions, drama, bushcraft and mediaeval re-enactment Please contact us if you would like more details.. Alex Salmond - Scotland's First Minister - Says... 
'I am delighted to support Willows Animal Sanctuary once again in their fundraising campaign. 
£6.99
£10.99
£6.50
£9.99
£3.99
Some of the things you can buy from our online shop or from Willows on Ebay The Story of Willows Animal Sanctuary Willows Animal Sanctuary has been rescuing animals from distressing situations since 1989. It all began with an Arab horse called Willow (we named our sanctuary after her) who we learned had been left tethered in the wind and rain and suffering from mud fever for a long time. One day she became entangled in her tether and was slowly choking until a vigilant passer-by intervened and called out the RSPCA. Her owner was prosecuted and eventually Willow came to us. Hearing about what had happened to Willow made us aware of the enormous suffering that can befall animals and we set about making a safe place for unwanted or abused animals to live out the rest of their lives. In 1999 Willows became a recognised Scottish Charity and began to specialise in accepting animals that had been rejected by other charities as being unsuitable for re-homing. Willows now provides a “last chance sanctuary” and most of the animals here would not be around today if Willows did not exist. We at Willows act as a lifeline for needy animals and offer them safety, rehabilitation and re-home those that are suitable. Willows offers dedicated care to abandoned and ill-treated domestic and farm animals. Willows Patron - Sandi Thom
Arthur
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Humphrey 
Humphrey came to Willows with a Shetland Pony companion called Dennis because he was no longer wanted. He had been bought with much enthusiasm (and little knowledge) as a children's pet and had ended up just being left out in a muddy field all winter. No proper attention had been paid to him and his neglected feet were just beginning to turn up and he was riddled with both worms and lice. Humphrey and his Shetland Pony friend Dennis will become permanent residents here at Willows and will be able to enjoy the happy life that they deserve. More > Lucky 
In June 1999 Willows received an urgent phone call asking if we could provide a home for Lucky. Life had been fine for Lucky until his owner had agreed to place him on loan with someone who failed to take proper care of him. When his owner became aware of Lucky’s plight she took urgent action to take him back and find somewhere safe for him to live. More > |
Pictured
at left is the other Willows patron, Sandi Thom - the well
known NE Scotland singer/songwriter. She gives generously of
her time and does a fantastic job for Willows.
In Spring 2008 Willows was informed by a kind lady who walked her dog in nearby woodland that she had seen a pair of young cats living under a battered tin can.
They had evidently initially been abandoned in a black bag from which they had managed to escape – though, without food or water things were looking very bleak
for them. We lent our cat trap to her and she caught the cats and brought them to Willows. They were understandably very nervous and aggressive at first but
eventually began to trust humans again. One of these cats we named Arthur and he has had a very happy time here at Willows! Unfortunately he began to show
signs of skin cancer and our vets decided that it would be sensible to remove his ears. He coped well with the operation and continues to enjoy a peaceful
life here at the sanctuary.