The above poem was written by Shirley, a friend in Basingstoke, England from whom I adopted three cats when I lived in the area during the early 1990's. I have fond memories of the dedication of Shirley and her team; the cats I adopted were great companions with such fantastic characters. One was called Sherry and you can read her story here.

When I left Basingstoke, Shirley was still devoting her life to animals and, with Tricia Field, their own small animal charity was established in 1998. It was granted charity status in the following June and is called called StaRescue.  Shirley and Tricia with the wonderful help of a committee work on a voluntary basis and all monies raised, either through fundraising or donations, go towards the welfare of the animals.

More information about this work can be seen by clicking on this link: http://www.starescue.info