Ashbourne Animal Welfare operates The Ark Rescue and Rehoming Centre for unwanted and stray cats and dogs. We provide TLC as well as any necessary veterinary care prior to adoption, we always neuter and we promote responsible pet ownership. The charity was formed in 1988 and has helped over 9000 animals to date.

Ashbourne Animal Welfare came into being at a public meeting in Ashbourne in 1988, when about a dozen like minded people answered an ad asking for animal lovers to form a local rescue group. Our early work was financed by a succession of jumble sales, bazaars, car boots, coffee mornings and we even ran a shop in Ashbourne selling clothes and bric a brac.

When we first started, our cats and dogs were fostered at supporters’ houses, a far cry from the wonderful accommodation now on offer to residents at The Ark!

Our dream had always been to own and run a purpose built rescue and rehoming centre and in 1997, to our amazement, we were given the opportunity of achieving this long held ambition when some of our supporters offered us an interest free loan to build our own shelter. A small group of dedicated members accepted this challenge and set to work, like Noah, to build The Ark. We got the chance to buy some land and, after a nail biting wait of several months, we finally got planning permission. Frantic fund raising commenced to help pay for the building and equipping of our centre, now officially called The Ark and work started on site in February 2000. We relied heavily on the goodwill of local businesses, as well as help and encouragement from the local community, members and supporters. Their generosity saved us many thousands of pounds, enabling us to build a bigger and better Ark than we ever thought possible! Teams of hardworking volunteers laboriously painted (3 coats!) what seemed like acres of breeze block wall and concrete floor, put shelving up, cleared rubbish, created paths for dog walking etc in between fund raising and doing their own full time jobs!