THE Border Collie Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre in Crymych is proudly celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Founded by Diane Hart from the profits of her upholstery business, the Centre is now her full time job, with 72 dogs currently in residence.

“I had my first two Collies in my teens, and by my early twenties I began to rescue and rehome them," Diane explained.

"I was eventually able to buy my first smallholding to increase the number of rescues, and to work with Collies with behavioural challenges.

"I paid for the running costs from my upholstery business and donations from our kind supporters, and I now have to dedicate all my time to the Centre."

With over 40 years of experience working with Collies, Diane is now approached by people to help them with the psychological aspects of training their dogs.

"All our dogs are slowly introduced to life as a pack, which is the first stage of the rehabilitation process," she said.

"This can take anything from 24 hours to six weeks, depending on the level of abuse and experiences of the dog.

"A pack is a dog's natural environment from where they learn social skills, respect, space, body language and, most of all, to have fun.

"The next stage is to identify specific problems such as being unable to walk on a lead, lunging at vehicles and bikes, chasing cyclists, aggressive behaviour and biting.

"Only when the dogs are ready do we seek experienced Border Collie homes.

"The total length of the process can take up to six months.

"If at any point a relationship doesn't work out, or any unforeseen circumstances arise, we are more than happy for the dog to come back at any stage of its life."

Diane says that she has followed her dream of working with dogs, but feels there is still much she wants to achieve.

“We have wonderful outdoor space here, in a beautiful location," she said,

"Moving forward we want to improve our facilities by having an indoor training school to enable us to continue training in all weathers, and overnight accommodation for owners so they can attend workshops in dog training.

"We would also like to offer a post-operative therapy pool for exercise and confidence building -.and fun!”

For more information you can find Diane Hart on Facebook and on-line at: www.bordercollierescueandrehabcentre.co.uk