An animal charity, that was left devastated after its rescue van was stolen and destroyed, says it has been “overwhelmed” by the wave of support from the local community and beyond.
Adoptapaws, based in Hilltop, Rotherham, faced a major setback last week when its £30,000 specialist van was taken from a garage in Hillsborough, Sheffield, and later found abandoned near Beeley Wood with its engine stripped and parts scattered.
Vicki Fryer, one of the trustees of Adpotapaws, said: “We’re overwhelmed with the amount of support we’ve got at the minute.
“The GoFundMe’s raised nearly £10,000 and we’ve got a fundraiser that’s now over £5000 and we just can’t believe it.”
The charity is raising money to replace the van and its custom fittings.
As well as donations, the charity has been offered practical help, including volunteers stepping in to take animals to the vet in their cars.
A loaned camper van also allowed them to attend the All About Dogs Show in Newark last weekend, an important fundraising event for the charity, which Adoptapaws were sure they’d miss without the van.
Vicki said: “It’s absolutely amazing the amount of support that we’ve been given. We’ve had people volunteer to take our animals to the vets, absolutely all sorts of help has been offered.
“We had somebody offer their camper van so that we could get to the show that we were doing at Newark at the weekend.”
Support for the charity has been widespread with animals charities such as the RSPCA in Sheffield, who were able to donate £500 to Adoptapaws.
A singer and entertainment artist was also able to donate a generous £650 by selling some of her old stage costumes to raise funds.
Vicki said: “The van is a life line to all the animals in our care.”
The van had been crucial to the charity’s operations and was used to rescue dogs from all over the UK. The vans loss had left the charity grounded but the response from the public is helping them get back on their feet.
Vicki said: “It’s honestly been so heartwarming, we’re so grateful.”