A family-run animal therapy organisation in Beaworthy is appealing for donations in order to continue caring for 75 rescued creatures.

Therapy Tails, run by Natasha and Dave Hutchins, started when the family-of-five moved from London to start an animal rescue organisation in 2022.

In London the pair worked as dog groomers, but always dreamt of moving away from the big smoke to work with people and animals in the countryside.

Natasha said: “We just generally have an interest in helping other people so after rescuing chickens, goats, sheep, horses and cats we found ourselves evolving to take the animals that we home, to visit schools and care homes to help them.

“Animal Assisted Therapy is a wonderful way of providing comfort, happiness and positivity to one’s day however they may be feeling. It can help reduce anxiety barriers when individuals are struggling at school, help teach compassion and empathy, and can even improve cognitive function.

“Our first visit was when we went to the Okehampton College special educational needs department. We took a lamb, a guinea pig, chickens and ponies that the children were able to walk and groom. We could of stayed there forever - it was so rewarding to see the children’s faces light up.”

Therapy Tails is completely funded by the pair who spend their time working to feed their three children and look after the 75 animals they care for on their small holding. So far, they have invested around £10,000 into the organisation.

They are appealing for support so they can build a school for their horses, provide food, pay vet bills and create outdoor shelters.

With the help of donations and volunteers, the organisation hopes to visit more care homes, hospitals and schools with their furry friends.

Natasha continued: “You have to hold back tears sometimes, seeing the residents interact with the animals because it’s so nice for them to get to know them.”

Therapy Tails is also hoping to create facilities so people can visit the animals on their site in Beaworthy as well as commuting the animals to different schools and care homes.

In order to make Therapy Tails accessible to the public, they have to build paths and public restrooms which will come as an additional cost.

Natasha continued: “I get requests probably every week if we can take animals in, but we’re limited because we need more field shelters and stables. We want to give the animals the best food and supplements we can get so if there were people out there who could spare a pound or two then it all adds up and could really make a difference.”

Some of the horses Natasha, Dave and the volunteers that are currently caring for are prone to a life threatening condition called laminitis.

To prevent the horses’ condition from getting worse they require exercise in a school which the smallholding doesn’t currently have.

To support Therapy Tails visit their Gofundme page which is featured on their Facebook ‘Therapy Tails UK’