Our Partnership With The Ark

Blog written by Elaine Dean, President.

In 2006 I was made aware of a wonderful animal rescue centre in Ashbourne by one of my former students. This was Ashbourne and District Animal Welfare Society – or ADAWS – commonly known as the Ark.

I was pleased that it was a membership organisation like a co-operative with people democratically elected into positions and that it was well run and incredibly well organised.

I spoke to the Head of Corporate Affairs at the time who was a real dog lover and suggested she went on a visit. She ended up sponsoring a large rottweiler herself and sponsoring a pen in the dog end of the building. We also placed a food donations bin in our Ashbourne store to encourage members and customers to support the charity.

The Ark is situated a mile or so outside of the town in the middle of countryside near the village of Wyaston with fabulous views of the Derbyshire Dales including Dovedale.

Many people from the villages around come into Ashbourne for market day and visit our store for their daily or weekly shop and those who don’t have a car were happy to buy cat and dog food and place it in the pet food bin in our store.

Over the years the Ark applied successfully for a Community Dividend Award to create an all-weather exercise area the size of a tennis court so that dogs could safely run and play and we also helped kit out a room for volunteers and a small surgery for when the vet visited. We also donated hampers and vouchers for the immensely popular Open Days which attract hundreds, maybe a thousand, visitors.

Also over the years we visited in December with food gifts for the residents at Christmas and many Management and Executive  colleagues accompanied me to take the boxes donated by our suppliers. We also opened a new store in Ashbourne on Blenheim Road which is a fair bit nearer to the Ark and another food donation point was put in.

Years came and went and the Society manager responsible for the relationship with the Ark changed many times and every time I dreaded the new person to say they were ceasing the arrangement – but I knew that once I got them up to this 5* animal accommodation to visit they would change their mind. Several of the managers adopted a dog or cat and I myself came away in December 2019 with a small border collie now known as Dolly B Dean and what a lifesaver she was during lockdowns. She was our second dog from the Ark – in 2006 we previously adopted another small border collie we called Connie who had been run over and couldn't climb steps so our bungalow was perfect for her.

 In 2023 when Andy Peake was the Executive colleague in charge (he very nearly came away with a dog !) we started selling the Ark's Christmas cards in our Ashbourne stores and in our Support Centre in Lichfield to raise money and we still sponsor a dog pen with Central Co-op on the front.

The new Executive colleague is Sarah Dickins, who is also a dog lover ! So on 16^th December 2024 ,Sarah Dickins, Gary Berns and myself visited the Ark with the gifts and Sarah had her first look around and Gary his second (again he fell for a dog in there !) I loved a deaf almost albino border collie called Panda but I’m told I can only own one dog!

Barbara the Manager who lives on site, Wanda in charge of fundraising and Peter the Chair came and spoke and then Megan took us on a tour.

It is great to have a partnership like this in a Fairtrade town which means our customers can support the most popular charity in Ashbourne and one whose values and principles align with our own.

Keep your eye on the Ark website for details of Open Days in 2025 or if you see a cat or dog you might like to adopt, make an appointment to visit and view. Ark staff try hard to match people with animals .

Ashbourne Animal Welfare
The Ark, Wyaston Road,
Ashbourne,Derbyshire,
DE6 1NB
01335 300494
ashbourneanimalwelfare@yahoo.co.uk