Seventeen dogs face being put down at Christmas after ONE complaint about loud barking threatens 64-year-old sanctuary

Mill House Animal Sanctuary faces closure after council court order

Owners of the charity admit they can't afford to fight noise notice



'As it stands we will be forced to have to put the dogs down and we could even close for good,' owner Jane Wright said

Sheffield City Council want them to install sound-proof fencing



A sanctuary that has cared for unwanted animals for 64 years may be forced into the heartbreaking decision to put down all its dogs – because of one complaint about barking.

Twin sisters Pat Hartley and Jane Wright have been issued with a council noise abatement order which they say they cannot afford to comply with. It means they must find homes for their 17 dogs or have them destroyed.

They fear they may even be forced to close Mill House Animal Sanctuary, which is also home to 10 cows, 10 ponies, seven pigs, five sheep, five llamas and three goats.



Tragic: Jane Wright of Mill House Animal Sanctuary admits 17 dogs like Polly face being put down because a council said their barks are too loud

The 70-year-old sisters say the complaint from a neighbour about the barking is the only brush with authority they have had since they started the sanctuary in 1948.

Despite this, their local council issued the noise abatement order and told them to put up a soundproof perimeter fence.

Unfortunately, their registered charity cannot afford to fight the order in court and doesn’t have the funds to pay for fencing.

The sanctuary, in Fulwood, Sheffield, costs £3,000 a week to run and, although they receive donations, the sisters and their husbands prop it up with their own cash.

Mrs Hartley, whose husband Robert, 64, works as a driver, said: ‘We have a no-destruction policy. If we can’t rehome our animals, they stay with us until they die of old age. We have never turned any away.

‘But as things stand, we may have to put the dogs down and we could be forced to close for good.

‘We do not have enough funds to pay for a lengthy legal fight and in any case we feel the money is better spent caring for the animals.’

Mrs Hartley denied the dogs barked ‘all day, every day’ and insisted the sisters try to keep noise to a minimum.

‘We are in a quiet spot on a country lane, it’s not as if we are in a built-up area,’ she said. ‘The dogs do bark from time to time, all dogs bark.’

Attack: Patch may have to be destroyed before Christmas all because a single member of the public complained

Shame: The sanctuary cannot afford to fight the noise abatement notice brought against them, which makes the future bleak for animals like Alfie and 16 others

Home: The sanctuary has cared for thousands of animals like Sandy, pictured, since 1948

Mrs Wright and her mechanic husband Francis, 55, live in Mill House and say some of the dogs have recently been moved from heated kennels to the house to reduce the noise to neighbours.

'We have been here for 64 years and have cared for thousands of animals in that time – no one has ever complained before,’ Mrs Wright said.

‘We do our very best to ensure the noise is kept down. However, I have to concede that the dogs do bark from time to time. But it’s not like that all day every day as the person who has complained is claiming.’

The sisters say that, with Christmas approaching, they expect to have more unwanted pets to look after in the coming weeks.



Home: The sanctuary has been asked to put up sound proof fencing - but they just can't afford it

Sad: The home, which has taken animals from all over Britain, has a no destruction policy but may have to shut leaving them with no other option

‘We can’t turn them away. Putting up a fence is not a priority,’ said Mrs Hartley. The sisters lived in Mill House with their parents as children and were brought up with pet dogs and cats.

In 1948, the family saved a young pony called Dolly because a neighbour was sending her to be slaughtered. She lived for another 25 years. The girls were only six when they took on Dolly and soon other unwanted ponies arrived and the sanctuary developed.

Both sisters later had clerical jobs and used their money to run the sanctuary, which became a charity in 1982. Over the years they have taken in animals from all over the country, from the South Coast to the Orkneys.

Heartbreak: Polly (left) and Poppy (right) and 15 other dogs face being put down thanks to the sole complaint

Cuddle: Rescued dogs Rocky (left) and Polly are cared for alongside a whole host of other saved animals

Desperate: Jane Wright holds Poppy and is keen to solve a problem that could lead to innocent deaths

Serious: Ossie, Patch and Polly are unaware that there lives could be short thanks to an order brought by one complaint

Mrs Hartley said: ‘We just love animals, we always have, and so did our parents.

‘When word got around that we had taken in a couple of ponies people starting contacting us about neglected animals and some were left at our gate.

'Over the years the animals took over our lives.

‘We don’t have the money to fight this case and we do fear the dogs will have to be put to sleep unless something can be done.’



A Sheffield council spokesman said: ‘A noise abatement order has been issued against the animal sanctuary. The owners initially appealed and then withdrew their appeal.

‘We are now working with the owners to help them comply with the order.’

