ARC Animal Rescue celebrated its 53rd anniversary in May of 2025!

Originally started by Mrs Shrimpton and Miss Topsy Hindley. the official title is "Sidmouth Animal Welfare and Animal Rescue Centre". Another local charity known as Leap, "The League for the Encouragement of Animal Protection" was incorporated into ARC when its founder member died and ARC inherited the responsibility for their remaining animals and funds.

Our purpose is to provide rescue, relief and re-homing for lost, unwanted and un cared for dogs and cats in the area. Miss Hindley remained one of the charity's trustees and an inspiration to all until her passing at the age of 108 in 2021.

 The charity has changed much since those early days. In 2013 ARC opened it's current Rescue Centre with 16 kennels and ancillary building just outside Ottery St Mary and has continued to rescue and re-home hundreds of dogs and other animals over the last 10 years. The growth of local towns and the pressures of modern living have all played a part in ensuring that ARC is as busy now as it ever was. 

 The pandemic and subsequent lockdown in 2020 had a devastating effect on many rescue centres because dogs were being sold for thousands of pounds and very few came into rescue.

 Since just before Christmas 2021 a lot of dogs have been handed in and with the closing of Blue Cross in the Southwest we are getting more dogs from Mid and North Devon as well as Torbay areas. Many of these dogs have problems because they have not been socialised and some have not seen a vet for various health problems. ARC always endeavour to home their dogs in as good physical condition as possible which sometimes means expensive veterinary treatment.

​Many of our dogs in recent years have been bought off the internet and had false or misleading descriptions, resulting in the owner being unable to cope with them when they get them home and then having to rehome them.

​Today we are having an increasing amount of dogs being handed into us due to people having financial issues, especially because of the ever increasing cost of veterinary treatment. This has also stopped as many people coming to adopt dogs as they used to. Despite this, we continue to have a steady turnover rate of finding dogs their forever homes.