Kenilworth animal lover makes 'extraordinary' donation to vets' Christmas appeal

An animal lover from Kenilworth has made an 'extraordinary' donation of shoeboxes filled with treats for cats and dogs after a vets' Christmas appeal.
Michelle West (left)  and Pawprints Dog Rescue trustee Trisha Shaw with
some of the 108 shoeboxes full of Christmas treats donated by Michelle to Avonvale Vets Christmas appeal.Michelle West (left)  and Pawprints Dog Rescue trustee Trisha Shaw with
some of the 108 shoeboxes full of Christmas treats donated by Michelle to Avonvale Vets Christmas appeal.
Michelle West (left) and Pawprints Dog Rescue trustee Trisha Shaw with some of the 108 shoeboxes full of Christmas treats donated by Michelle to Avonvale Vets Christmas appeal.

Michelle West, now retired, filled more than 100 shoeboxes with goodies after hearing about Avonvale Vets’ first Christmas Shoebox Appeal last year.

The treats in the shoeboxes will go to cats and dogs in nearby rescue centres.

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Michelle was moved to make a contribution by the sensitive way the practice had handled the death of her pet dog some years previously.

And earlier this year, in anticipation of a 2017 appeal, she began collecting shoeboxes from local shoe shops, decorating them and filling them with food and treats.

She ended up losing track of how many she had filled.

Michelle said: “I started off by doing ten, then 20 and, before I knew it, I had 108."

Avonvale Vets are now appealing to other animal-lovers to make donations of toys, treats, food and goodies for both dogs and cats. These will be delivered to the Pawprints Dog Rescue Centre, at Stretton-on-Dunsmore, near Rugby, and to local cat rescue centres by Christmas Day.

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Avonvale customer care administrator Sue Godfrey said: “Due to the enormous success of last year’s appeal we are hoping to spread even more Christmas joy to homeless cats and dogs this year. Michelle’s extraordinary generosity has given this year’s effort a huge boost.

“Our local rescue centres do a fantastic job of providing for these animals but they simply don’t have the resources to provide the extras at Christmas, so we’re looking to provide them with a small token of our appreciation.”

Since it was founded, Pawprints has rescued hundreds of dogs that would otherwise have been put to sleep and spent thousands of pounds on medical treatment for those who have been neglected, abandoned or lost.

Pawprints trustee Trisha Shaw said: “We face an overwhelming demand for our services and we are hugely grateful to Avonvale for their continued support.”

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Anyone wishing to donate a shoebox can purchase items from Avonvale who will make up a box on their behalf; drop off items at any of Avonvale’s surgeries in , Kenilworth, Leamington, Warwick, Wellesbourne, Stratford or Southam, or drop off a filled shoebox of gifts at one of the surgeries.

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