Santa Paws: Meet Pippa Maher, of Ipswich, who buys gifts for homeless animals over Christmas

A dog-lover from Ipswich is gearing up for another Christmas of buying gifts for homeless animals, as she has for 13 years.

Pippa Maher, 41, has taken on the role of ‘Santa Paws’ at the RSPCA’s central Suffolk branch in Martlesham.

She said joining up as a volunteer for the charity was the best thing she’s ever done and gives back by buying gifts, not only for the animals but the staff who look after them.

She decided to sign on having given up work a few years earlier after suffering a breakdown.

Now, she’s sharing her story in the hopes it will encourage others to help animals this Christmas.

Pippa said: “I’m a dog person and love being with them. They’re so much easier to spend time with than people.

“You get so much from dogs and I really enjoy being with them, they’re such wonderful creatures.

“They bring me a certain peace.”

Pippa started giving gifts to the animals at the RSPCA shortly after she joined in 2011.

Since joining, she has also adopted an RSPCA dog, Moxie, a Staffie.

On why she started giving gifts, Pippa said: “I was in a shop and they’ve bought out an amazing but affordable pet range so I bought loads of stuff for the dogs and then decided I’d start doing Christmas hampers for them each year, filled with treats and toys, and biscuits and chocolates for the staff.

“The dogs don’t have homes and families of their own, they’re in the best place they could be because of the hell they’ve been through so it’s my way of showing them a bit of extra love at Christmas time. I look at my dog and think how lucky she is and I want them to have a little bit of that.

“What they’ve been through is so awful and I like to do that nice thing for them. This year I’ll be giving the centre gift vouchers so they can buy the animals whatever they need.

“I also love to give the staff a little something special to say thank you; they work so hard throughout the year and put so much effort into every single animal in their care, they’re so dedicated. It’s such a hard job and they see such terrible things.”

Pippa said she began volunteering at the RSPCA because she always wanted to work with dogs.

She described the charity as a ‘wonderful place’ with the best people.

The RSPCA has launched its ‘Join The Christmas Rescue’ appeal, urging people to donate or volunteer their time so it can look after animals over the festive period.

It expects to receive more than 25,000 calls of animal suffering over the Christmas period, including 700 on Christmas Day.

Zoe Barrett-Lamb, manager at the Martlesham branch, said volunteers like Pippa were crucial to the charity being able to help as many animals as possible.

She added: “We rely heavily on volunteers every day of the week to assist with cleaning animal accommodation, socialising and walking dogs, laundry, and much more.

“Pippa is an amazing example of a committed volunteer. She comes to walk our dogs rain or shine, helps us with their training and always has a smile on her face. Our dogs love Pippa as much as she loves them.

“We have volunteers who have been with us for years, and some who have started recently but they all play their part in making lives better for animals who come from troubled pasts and for that we will be forever thankful.

“It's not unfamiliar to see Pippa arrive with bags and bags of goodies for all to enjoy - for staff and animals alike. Whether it be Easter, Christmas or all the days in between, Pippa is all about going the extra mile for animals in need, and making our hard-working team feel special too.”

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