A GENEROUS volunteer has devoted herself to helping Romanian cats and dogs after being inspired by finding her pup on the A420.

Sammy Cullis was driving along the busy road when she spotted a Terrier cross on the side of the lane when he was three years old.

The 46-year-old, of Marston Farm, said: “I’m allergic to most dogs and cats but I have got used to some – it’s better if they don’t moult a lot.

"But I rescued my dog Rusty on the A420 about eight years ago and then I thought I would get him a companion.

"That’s when I adopted Watson who is a Tibetan Terrier.”

Then Sammy decided she wanted to help animals in need.

After hearing about the struggles cats and dogs go through in Romania, Sammy decided to go and see for herself.

She told the Adver: “In Romania they’re often abandoned and left on their own.

"I’ve been over there and seen the issues in person. I’ve even seen some that have died, it’s a huge problem.

“Helping these animals is just something special to me.”

A year ago she set up a Facebook group The Food Fairies For Street Dogs and Cats, which eight other women later joined to help the animals.

The group collects donations of blankets, beds, food and toys.

The money raised helps to pay for fuel and travel costs to get the donations to Romania.

Sammy said: “I sent out a post on Facebook to ask people for dog food and it snowballed from there.

“A group of eight ladies joined me and we collect donations for cats and dogs which we send out to Romania and Bulgaria.”

Now the group is looking to raise money to buy another crate to get more donations over to countries in Europe.

“One of our ladies has very kindly been trying to get the word out there that we’re selling some dog coats and blankets to raise money.

"We want to use this money to buy another crate so we can take more donations and for vans to take them,” said Sammy.

“It has become quite a big operation, I never imagined it would go this far.

"I put out a Facebook post asking for unwanted dog food and I just wanted to share it around a bit because dogs are huge in our culture but they’re not so cared for in some other countries.

"Then it went viral and that’s when I decided to start the Facebook page.”

The group has set up an Amazon wishlist, asking for wet dog food, cat food, cat milk and dog treats.

It often advertises on its page about rescue animals that need adopting.

Sammy and her helpers give help and donations to Swindon’s pet shelters.

To give the group a helping hand you can contact them through their Facebook page @foodfairiesdogscats