All creatures great and small
Ever rescued since her Tamara first cat Lloyd aged four, she’s been working around the clock to give a home to hundreds of animals no one else will take
Down a little lane in Lincolnshire, you’ll find everything from pigs to ponies, pussy cats to pups, and in the middle of it all, the animal fanatic Tamara Lloyd singlehandedly keeping her Alternative Animal Sanctuary thriving. It’s home to around 400 rescue animals, but it all started with a tiny cat Tamara and her sisters discovered as children. “This cat was living in a nearby stable and getting thinner by the day, so we decided to take him in,” says Tamara, now 48. Next came the horse in the stables who was about to be taken to the slaughterhouse when food prices became too expensive and they rescued him in just the nick of time. From there, more and more rescue animals started joining the family – much to her poor dad’s exasperation – as her sister brought home unwanted pets from the vets where she worked and local people got wind of the little rescue centre that was building up. With the house getting somewhat full, they moved to a bigger property with land for their brood and, over time, Tamara took over the running of the accidental sanctuary they’d created. Funding it all with her own money, Tamara eventually decided in 2005 that she had to make this into a proper charity so she could help the dozens of animals being left on her doorstep. All was going well for Tamara’s Alternative Animal Sanctuary when, in 2008, disaster struck when a fire burned the place down overnight, tragically taking the lives of some of her animals too. With no house, Tamara was forced to live in a muddy caravan with a handful of her dogs while the rest of her animals were sent to other sanctuaries across three counties.
“It was truly awful,” says Tamara.
‘A lot of people tend to fight over the cute and cuddly animals, but I take the ones who have nowhere else to go’
It was the hardest winter in 40 years and problem after problem kept coming her way when, finally, she spotted a lovely farm in Lincolnshire and submitted a bid.
Since then, Tamara’s sanctuary has grown and grown as more unwanted rescues have come her way.
“My ethos is to take in animals that have absolutely no other option. A lot of people tend to fight over the cute and cuddly animals, but I take the ones who have nowhere else to go. “Many of the dogs I take come from the dog pound and may have proved impossible to rehome in the past while the cats can be feral or just unpopular for rehoming, for example if they’re black or old or need rehoming in a group. The pigs I get tend to have been bought by people who thought they were micro pigs and then they outgrew their home, which also happens with terrapins who grow bigger than people
expect. I have a lot of older horses, some of whom were dumped when they got too old to ride while others have simply been with me since I set up the sanctuary.
“Today I try very hard not to look out for animals to rescue as I’m at full capacity, but unfortunately more and more animals just need a home.” While Tamara runs the sanctuary on her own, her ambitions are to one day buy a second premises where volunteers can help out, members of the public can visit and she can set up a wildlife section for hedgehogs and birds that she’s long dreamed of. As a former teacher, she’d also love to set up an education programme to teach people how important it is to look after an animal for life. “I remember my mum telling me about evacuees who brought their pets with them, even though they had nothing else. Today it seems as soon as something happens in someone’s life their pet is the first thing to go. We need to educate youngsters on having an animal for life.
“Ever since I was little, people have always said to me you can’t save them all. And that’s true, but I think if everyone sat back and said there’s no point doing anything as you can’t save them, nothing would get better. You just have to do the bit you can do and do that as best you can.
“After the fire a lot of people said to me it was time to call it a day, but I’ve never really been a giving up person. While it’s stressful never having enough money and never being able to help enough animals, I absolutely love what I do and just want to continue doing it.”
■ the alternative animal Sanctuary runs entirely on donations. If you’d like to donate, send a cheque payable to ‘the alternative animal Sanctuary’ to: Chapelry Farm, Langrick road, New york, Lincoln LN4 4Xh or visit www.alternativesanctuary.co.uk you can also help by sending good-quality cat and dog food to the same address
‘While it’s stressful never having enough money and never being able to help enough animals, I absolutely love what I do’