More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
An animal sanctuary enlisted the help of the community to improve the lives of more than 200 animals.
The Happy Pants Ranch on Hill Green Road, Yelsted, near Sittingbourne, is home to 25 species, from pigs to tortoises and even goldfish.
Amey James opened the ranch almost ten years ago, which has since become crammed with creatures from across the animal kingdom who have nowhere else to go.
Miss James, 34, said: “For the day-to-day running of the sanctuary it’s the volunteers who are vital.
“The sanctuary couldn’t exist without them.”
After a busy month of donations and a few turkeys saved from a Christmas dinner fate, Miss James realised she needed more hands on deck to restore the ranch to its former glory.
She put a call out on Facebook for volunteers and almost 30 people turned up on Sunday to help return the ranch back to its original condition.
The recruits helped mend fences, plant trees and move hay bales, as well as giving the entire site a general spring clean.
She said: “It would have taken me and my partner weeks to do everything that was done on Sunday, but with a few more hands and a bit more strength it all got done in just a few hours.”
The ranch is a registered charity, and has become well-known locally as a forever home for animals who are unwanted or in danger of being killed.
Help from volunteers made such a difference to the ranch that Miss James hopes to invite people to come and help more regularly.
She said: "The 'do it all' day, as I called it, I think we're going to try and do that once a month.
"It just helps to try and keep on top of things, it's amazing."
Last month, Miss James came up with an clever idea to care for a paralysed pig named Pip.
The Vietnamese black pot bellied pig lost use of her back legs, so sanctuary volunteers slid a blanket under the pig and hoisted her up so she could wander around the fields on her front legs.
Miss James said without the ranch and the volunteering and donations made by the community, many of these animals would not have survived.
She said: "They would be dead because it's turned into a last chance for them to live.
Watch Pip walk around with the help of a blanket
"All the animals that come here, I will try and rehome to other rescues or privately rehome them through the power of social media.
"But anything that is literally waiting at the vets to be put to sleep or is due to be on the slaughter wagon the next morning will come here.
"So yeah, everything that's ended up here probably just wouldn't be around."
Escaped animals, unusual finds and news from the RSPCA can all be found here.
