This Morning viewers have become besotted with a set of puppies from a Welsh shelter which is looking for funds after being badly hit by Storm Arwen.
They were tiny, Welsh-speaking dogs from Many Tears, near Llanelli in Carmarthenshire.
Rescue centre had been appealing for donations following the storm which ‘ripped its roof to bits’. This caused an outage that resulted the tragic death one of their puppies.
Owner Sylvia Van Atta, 62, who owns the shelter with her husband Bill, sent out a plea for help to repair their building while speaking with the programme’s vet Dr Scott at the centre.
Sylvia revealed that she’s had the pleasure of caring for animals left behind during the pandemic. He then brought up the need to adopt the puppy-loving puppies.
Pictured: Dr Scott. visited the Many Tears animal shelter near Llanelli, in Carmarthenshire in Wales. Storm Arwen ripped the shelter’s roof and claimed one pup’s life.
A video was taken to show the destruction done by Storm Arwen. Sylvia Van Atta 62 laments the loss.
Sylvia showed the aftermaths of Storm Arwen in a video, and said: ‘It’s been the most terrible night ever. Our roof has been blown to bits by the worst winds and we’ve lost electricity.
She said that the shelter that we had spent so much time building was destroyed and that some sheets of metal were still flying about last night.
She said, “It’s terrifying and awful it’s really tough to keep going, really very hard. It’s devastating for animals, and my heart breaks. This will be a huge expense.
Dr Scott travelled to the shelter, where he was reporting from, and said: ‘The whole country has been battered by Storm Arwen, strong gust of wind up to 90mph, tearing roofs off, bringing down power lines, thousands of people are still waiting to have their electricity put back on.’
He also said that the storms had brought great pain to animals. Sylvia shared more information about the shelter’s cost to Arwen.
The shelter’s story touched viewers and they praised its great work. Others were enchanted by the shelter’s adorable dogs.
She said, “Trees fell, roofs flew off, and other objects were damaged as they passed,”
“A mother and her puppies had an awful time without electricity. One puppy was killed because the temperature dropped too low and they couldn’t be heated up. “And it ran all night, and part of the day, so it wasn’t a two hour thing. It went on for hours.”
Sylvia stated that the shelter sustained damage worth thousands of pounds, however she said that an emergency team was already on hand to provide assistance at a reduced cost.
The shelter normally costs £75,000 to run a month, to cover wages, and relies on the help of thousands of support workers and volunteers, Scott revealed.
During the visit viewers met Libby who was a rescue dog from the storm that left her unable to feed her pups.
Sylvia took care of the puppies in this photo. They had a terrible time during the storm, and needed to be fed once every two hours.
Scott holds a small puppy in the photo. Dr Scott stated that donations were needed to help repair the shelter’s damage.
Sylvia said it was one of Libby’s puppies who had died in the storm and that the rest had to be fed at least every two hours. This had proved difficult for the team.
Sylvia captured another dog and her puppies. Sylvia also revealed that Sylvia was the one who had bred Sylvia during Covid-19. He hoped to sell puppies.
They knew that they could make big money, so they decided to breed her.
Sylvia holds two puppies from the dogs.
Dr Scott stated that he was shocked to learn that shelters were receiving returned puppies.
Sylvia (right) told Scott that it would be thousands of dollars to maintain the centre’s viability after Storm Arwen.
Sylvia explained that while people may have bought a dog because of Covid, then later they find a better job or job offer and decide money is more important than the dog.
She added, “And it ought to have been for the life, as a marriage not just for Covid and Christmas, it is forever.”
There are many things that people can do, she said. However, she acknowledged that the centre would be better off with ‘cold-hard cash’.
Sylvia’s request touched many viewers who fell for her adorable pups. One said, “Those puppies, give me all of them!”
One person commented on Twitter, “Awww, they’re doing an amazing job,” while another wrote, “Many Tears, a fantastic dog rescue.” Unsentimental, one person joked, “I want these puppies.”