Neston woman opens antique shop to help care for injured animals

Feb 25 2009 by Carrie Catterall, Heswall News

A NESTON mother has devoted almost 50 years of her life to the care of elderly and injured animals.

Carol Horton, 61, founder of Oakwood Animal Sanctuary, Thornton Hough, started taking in vulnerable animals when she was 15 after finding an injured foal lying in a field.

Since her teenage years Carol has provided sanctuary for hundreds of creatures who would otherwise have been put down.

At first the mother-of-three used all her own money to fund this work but as things developed she opened a shop to provide more financial support for Oakwood Animal Sanctuary – now a registered charity.

The shop, on 4 Parkgate Road, Neston, sells books, bric-a-brac, musical instruments and antiques.

Carol said: “We don’t sell clothes and we deliberately set the store out so it doesn’t look like an ordinary charity shop.

“People are quite surprised when they come in as they tend to think we’re an antique shop.

“The money made at the shop covers most of our costs.”

The animal lover and her husband Jim, 64, now own 14 stables and two acres of land in Thornton Hough.

Ninety five per cent of the animals kept at the sanctuary are horses although Carol also has a few elderly dogs, a goose, a sheep and a goat as well.

She said: “We mainly keep old animals or animals with disabilities who cannot be re-homed.

“These come to us either through word of mouth, the RSPCA or the vet.

“When we get animals it’s a long-term commitment and we look after them until they die.”

The oldest animal at Oakwood is a 35-year-old Welsh mountain pony called Merrylegs.

She was brought to the farm, crippled with arthritis 10 years ago.

A few years later Merrylegs lost a lot of weight and the Oakwood team thought she would need to be put down.

Carol then realised the horse had lost her back teeth and couldn’t chew hay.

Workers and volunteers now feed her by hand six times a day.

Carol added: “Running this charity is a huge commitment and we just need people to keep supporting us by visiting our shop.”

For more information call 336 6492.