Two UHB nurses have turned their love of animals into a pet rescue service.

Sophie and Andy Pepper, who are married and work at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, began their non-profit rescue service, Pepper’s Pet Rescue, in September 2018 and have already rehomed 51 animals – a number that is growing by the day.

Sophie said: “As a family, we have fostered 10 dogs over the past few years and have always had many pets of our own. My husband and I always wanted to start something more formal in order to help more animals but between working and having two children it seemed like a big task.”

Unfortunately, in July 2018, their son, then three-years-old, had to have emergency brain surgery. This meant that both Sophie and Andy were at home for a period of time whilst he recovered. They turned this negative into a positive and used the opportunity to set up Pepper’s Pet Rescue.

“Since then we have successfully rehomed 51 animals; a mix of cats, kittens, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats and even a gecko. We have recently built better pens for the cats. We have five purpose-built pens; three floor to ceiling with three shelves and two smaller pens with one shelf each.”

Unfortunately, there isn’t always a happy ending. The pair also takes in sick animals in the hope they can help them recover and find new homes. Recently, however, they rescued a cat and her five kittens that had cat flu, which can be fatal. Heartbreakingly, within a week of having them, all but one passed away. Sophie said: “We continued to work with the last kitten, Ashley, and, luckily, she pulled through. We were delighted to find her a forever home with a wonderful family, and our little fighter is going from strength to strength.”

Pepper’s Pet Rescue has small close team of volunteers that help with fundraising, admin, animal care and support Sophie and Andy with decision-making. They have a great following on Facebook and an Amazon Wish List with which the couple say people have been very generous.

The rescue animals are vet checked and cats are vaccinated, microchipped, neutered, de-flead and wormed. Home checks are also completed prior to adoption to ensure good homes and new owners sign an adoption agreement that states, should the animal need rehoming again, they come back to us.

The service currently has nine cats looking for new homes and six rabbits. Sophie stresses that the rabbits must go in same-sex pairs, as they are sociable animals and have already bonded.

Pepper's Pet Rescue is based in Halesowen. You can find them on Facebook, and their email address is:

Email: PeppersPetRescue@hotmail.com