Pine Ridge Dog Sanctuary

 Pine Ridge Dog Sanctuary

Connie Cuff in her own words.

Interview by Richard Hill

Pine Ridge Dog Sanctuary in Ascot has been going for over 60 years. Here, Connie, principal and widow of the founder, the late Bernard Cuff, tells us the story…

“Pine Ridge came about when my late husband Bernard came home one evening and switched on his television to watch the news. They were interviewing the council and dignitaries in Slough, where they had introduced a new by-law. It was the first township in the country, in October 1958, banning unleashed dogs from the roads. If there was any dog anywhere without an owner, they picked it up and took it to their pound. Bernard was horrified when he heard that if the dog was not claimed, it would be put to sleep after seven days. He tried to get the by-law revoked, but that was a waste of time. He finally decided to approach the police and the council to ask if the dogs were not claimed, could he pick them up? They agreed to that, but he had to pay for them. They would charge a shilling (5p) a day per dog for their food. So, he used to go, when he finished work, and at the weekends, with one of the kennel staff, and they would pick up dogs left there because they would have been put to sleep.

 “That went on, and people got to hear about the work he was doing to save these dogs. He started getting phone calls from everywhere. At that time, he had a property on the outskirts of Bracknell with a couple of acres, but that came under compulsory purchase in 1959, so he had to look for more suitable premises. Then Pine Ridge Farm in Ascot became available. It was ideal, with its nine acres. He bought it and moved in. From there on, the number of dogs coming into the sanctuary just grew.

“Bernard would not refuse any dog. And we ended up with nearly 70 to 80% of totally unhomeable dogs because they were biters, fighters, or unpredictable and people weren't interested in them. And again, he wouldn't have anything put to sleep. They just lived their life out at Pine Ridge.

“In the early 80s, he concluded that we no longer could continue to take everybody's problem dogs, and now we only accept dogs that are friendly and homeable. They've got to be friendly dogs. But some dogs, unfortunately, through no fault of their own, will stay with us longer than one would expect. Eventually, the right home comes along for them, and off they go. And that is very rewarding.

“It's easy to find homes for little dogs and very friendly, outgoing dogs, but not quite so much for bigger dogs nowadays, so we just have to bide our time, and wait for the right home to come along for them. And here we are today, 66 years on, and still saving strays and unwanted dogs. It can be anything from a dozen dogs to 35. Our limit now by the council, is 75 but we keep sensible numbers.

“Generally, a lot of our homes are repeat homes, where people have had dogs from us, and they've lost them a few years later, and they come back. Through recommendations, we get a lot of nice homes. We have got doggies that have been homed in Norfolk and Cornwall. And these usually help with people that have had dogs from us in the past, and we love the people when they come back, because we know their previous dog, of course, has had a wonderful life.

“Why Spanish dogs? That came about when gradually with the local dogs we were taking, the numbers dropped in our own areas. We had to think about how are were going to help dogs? We had some friends who live in Spain and, again, the plight out there is the same. The Mediterranean countries do not believe in spaying, so of course, the bitches just produce pups every six months, allowed to roam, and their shelters are overflowing. So, we said yes. We've got the space and potential. So, then we started taking the dogs from Spain around 15 years ago. The main thing is to ensure that they are friendly, homeable dogs.

“They're not all ‘street’ dogs, as you get in Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria. In these places, they're mostly street dogs, and they are much more difficult. With the dogs from Spain, they're generally nice-natured, and friendly. And so that's how we came to get involved with Spain. They drive them over. It's a two-day drive, and they all come over with pet passports. And everything is done there by our colleagues in Spain. They do the chipping, the vaccinating, the worming, the neutering, and they must raise all the funds to do that. So, we do our bit by paying for all their transport to get them here. Otherwise, they couldn't do it, and it would be quite costly if we had to do the whole payout as well for each dog. It generally will work out anything up to £600 per dog to have everything done and with the transport. But at the end of the day, finding them happy in secure homes is what want for them.

“Our colleagues in Spain have got the contacts, and they will go and see the dogs, and if they think it's a suitable dog to send to us, they will send us photographs, and if we like what we see, yes, we'll take that. It’s hard to say no, because they all want homes.

“The transporters come from Spain, so they must be completely qualified. There's a heck of a lot of paperwork and customs forms that they must go through now and, since Brexit, it has made it much more difficult and much more expensive to supply the transport and do everything. And this is why they're coming over in small batches. When we started, we would have a van load of 10 or 12 come over. But now we're lucky if we get six spaces per trip. They drive down through Spain and then pick up the boat. They usually come into Kent at Dover, so then they have to drive, but it depends on where they're delivering. They deliver all over the country. They could have a dog that's got to go to Scotland. They will have other people's dogs on board. It can be Scotland or Cornwall. They must drive and deliver the doggy to them. And that, of course, is why it makes it quite expensive, but they do give us a reduced rate to bring the doggies to us. Of course, being a charity, which we're grateful for.

“It costs a significant sum to run Pine Ridge for a year. Generally, it would be around about the £60,000 - £70,000 mark. It’s a lot of money to raise. But we do get a lot of support from people who have been involved with Pine Ridge from the beginning, and the odd legacy, of course, does help tremendously.

Contacting Pine Ridge Dog Sanctuary

(All visits must be by appointment only)

Website: https://pineridgedogsanctuary.org.uk

Email: pineridgedogs@yahoo.co.uk

Telephone:  01344 882 689