Donating for animal welfare

A life-long love of animals has inspired one Horsham resident to encourage people to donate to help a rescue group carry on through tough times.

Cheap as Chips employee Sharon Tuohey wanted to find a way to give back to Horsham’s Phoenix Animal Rescue, which introduced her to a new best mate Rosie, an American staffy, earlier this year.

After Mrs Tuohey lost a staffy to cancer just before Christmas last year, she donated all of her pet toys to be resold to raise money for the rescue operation.

Staff and customers are now contributing to the cause and Cheap as Chips has since raised more than $500.

Mrs Tuohey said she wanted to give back to rescue director Carolyn Stow, who saved Rosie from the Horsham pound in February.

“She’s a beautiful dog and I can’t speak highly enough of Phoenix Animal Rescue in Horsham, they do amazing work,” she said.

“I wanted to donate all the items we bought from Cheap as Chips to Carolyn for a good cause.”

Mrs Stow said she was grateful for the donations, which would help with operating costs.

“It’s a massive thing to be running a rescue, so any donation helps us out significantly,” she said.

“We’re a small rescue group so all of our funds raised are through fundraising and we haven’t been able to do that at the moment because of COVID-19.”

Phoenix Animal Rescue saves and rehomes a range of animals including cats, dogs, rabbits, rats and ponies.

Donations can be taken to Cheap as Chips staff and management.