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THE island's deserted doggies and forsaken felines can woof and meow a sigh of relief with the news that Tony 'the Dogfather' Walters and his 2nd Chance animal shelter are not to be made homeless after all.
Earlier this year GulfWeekly exclusively reported that Tony and his 90 dogs, 70 cats, Farid the ferret, Bert the bunny and assorted birds, had been told they must leave the compound in Karranah where they have lived for four years as it had been sold and was to be developed.
Concerned at what would happen to all the animals, British Ambassador Jamie Bowden and his wife Sarah offered the grounds of the British Embassy for a fundraising event to help raise awareness of Tony's plight.
Hundreds of people turned out with their canine companions for a fun dog show and family event which raised more than BD1,700 for animal welfare.
Shortly after the dog show, events took a happy turn for the better when Tony heard from his landlord that his lease is to be renewed after all and his home is safe at least for another year.
This will give him time to either arrange to buy his current property or find a suitable replacement without the rush that the earlier notice to leave prompted.
Tony said: "This is absolutely great news. I was really concerned as I had looked at other places but there was nowhere as ideal as this one. With this many dogs, it has to be somewhere they are not going to disturb the neighbours.
"The money will still be put to good use for the animals as it will allow me to put up extra air conditioned kennel blocks and a cattery each with air conditioning, the news couldn't have come at a better time.
"Most of the animal accommodation is already air conditioned but I was getting quite concerned about those in the blocks where it is not installed yet as the weather is getting hotter.
"It also means I have time to look into alternative arrangements in case we do have to move in the future, but let's hope that's not the case as I would really like to be able to stay here."
