The story of Topsy, her dogs, and the Animal Rescue Centre

Many people know that the oldest resident of Sidmouth's Arcot House, 108-year old Gertrude 'Topsy' Hindley, is the co-founder of the Sidmouth Animal Rescue Service, which is now based in Ottery and known as ARC.

But the story of how the charity came into being, and developed into a dog boarding and rehoming centre, is less well known.

Sidmouth Nub News has been finding out more from Topsy's nephew, Richard, and her friend, Crystal Scott, the current manager of ARC, who has known her since the early 1990s.

The picture that emerges is of a very private person, but one with an energetic – even fiery - spirit, whose love of dogs shaped her path through life. As well as dedicating many years to the welfare of dogs, she has owned several as pets, including Jacob, a collie cross, Pixie, a terrier, Dante, a pointer, Rosetti, a retriever and Lindy, a cairn.

When Topsy was a young girl, her father wouldn't let her have a dog, so she took other people's pets for walks to enjoy their company. She wanted to become a vet, but during that period between the First and Second World Wars, it wasn't easy for a young girl to obtain the necessary qualifications, so she went to work at a kennels in Budleigh Salterton instead.

Topsy had to spend many years looking after her father, who lived to the age of 100. After he died in 1959, she began taking dogs into her home and looking after them for friends or neighbours when they were on holiday. She had a knack for dealing with canine behaviour problems.

Her nephew Richard Hindley said, "I can remember how some of them would warn her that a particular dog was quite difficult to control and behaved rather badly. She would assure them that all would be well. Within a day or two she would have that dog completely under control and the owner would be amazed when they came back to collect their pet."

At this time Topsy often had as many as six or seven dogs living or staying in her home and used to take several of them out for walks at the same time, each with its own lead. She usually exercised the dogs in the Byes and Beatlands Road and became a well-known character in the area, leading to more and more people asking her to look after their pets.

The incident that led to the founding of the charity

The Sidmouth Animal Rescue Circle charity came about after an incident that must have been very upsetting for Topsy. According to Crystal, a friend of hers had a Golden Retriever which went missing, and it later emerged that the dog had been taken to the RSPCA and then put to sleep. Topsy and another friend, Mrs Shrimpton, decided between them that this must never happen again and the two of them set up the charity. Topsy went to the police and offered to take in and re-home any stray dogs that were handed in to them, so that they were kept safe. The charity became officially established in 1972, with Topsy as treasurer – a role she held until the age of 102.

Crystal Scott took over as manager of the Animal Rescue Centre in 1993, and remembers visiting Topsy at her home in Milford Avenue early in their friendship.

She said: "Her house was like a museum. She had never changed anything since her parents moved in, it was amazing. She had no washing machine, no television, not even a fridge at that time and the place was full of antiques and artefacts. It was lovely."

At that time the charity was having to rely on boarding kennels and foster homes to look after the dogs in its care, but Topsy was determined to change that. She told Crystal her ambition was to have her own rescue centre, so the pair worked together for several years to make her dream a reality.

The centre, with kennels, officially opened at Chineway Road, Ottery St Mary in May 2013, two days after her 101st birthday. In honour of Topsy, a plaque was placed above the kennel door, saying 'The kindly Hindley home for dogs'.

Richard Hindley said, "Topsy was absolutely delighted when the land was obtained to build the centre and even more so when the centre opened and she was one of the guests of honour.

"It really was the culmination of some 50 years plus of her dedication to the dog world and the welfare of so many dogs. What a truly amazing achievement. I am certain that her single-minded approach and boundless enthusiasm over so many years was a contributing factor in the present centre coming into existence."