Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Alan Weston

Friends struggling 'to take in' news of 'amazing' woman's sudden death

An animal rescue charity said they were "shocked" at the sudden death of one of their volunteers.

June Conroy, who worked with Garston Animal Rescue, sadly died on August 19 after a short illness at the age of 71.

Nancy Lindsay, a trustee of the charity, said they had "struggled to take in" the news, as only days before June had been supporting them in one of her many roles which she held as a very active volunteer in Garston Animal Rescue.

READ MORE: Nan couldn't stop smiling after making withdrawal from bank

June first started helping the animal rescue charity in 2016, bringing much-needed food and treats for the animals.

This quickly developed into her becoming a volunteer, undertaking cleaning and feeding duties for the Rescue's many cats.

In time, as she became more experienced with the animal care work, she moved on to training new helpers, and managing the volunteer rota.

In addition, June also took on the role of doing the preliminary interviews with potential adopters of the charity's rescue animals. This included explaining animal welfare considerations to people and often managing the unrealistic expectations of some applicants.

This of course meant the charity was freed us up to carry on with more of the actual rescue work, such as animal care, foster home support, and vet trips.

One of June's biggest success stories was adopting a cat herself, later called Darby by helpers. The cat had been first admitted to the charity's care in a dreadful state, with a face full of abscesses and deep scratches.

June leaves behind her very supportive husband Ray, and their two cats, Stevie and Darby.

Nancy Lindsay, Trustee of Garston Animal Rescue, said: "You can rescue animals for the rest of your life, which of course is brilliant for those many individual rescued animals, but to bring about real change for animals you need to change attitudes.

"In this, we salute June, as she always stressed to people the absolute need for neutering and microchipping, and providing a safe environment for animals in a forever home.

"She really did consider everything, and worked so hard as a volunteer within Garston Animal Rescue to promote its aims in helping the many abandoned animals who find themselves living on our streets, and of course, through no fault of their own."

Garston Animal Rescue has a charity shop on Aigburth Road, known locally as an "Aladdin’s Cave" which is used to help generate essential funding.

The aim of the Rescue is to set up a dedicated sanctuary so they can rescue even more animals. Full details on the charity's work, including how to volunteer or donate, can be found here.

Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.