A FAMILY forced to sell their home to avoid repossession have found foster homes for their beloved pets, thanks to the kindness of Worcester News readers.

Penny Rowe, of Farleigh Road, Pershore, feared she would have to give her pets away as the family prepared to move into temporary accommodation in a two-bedroom, first-floor flat in Mayflower Road, Droitwich.

But kind readers flooded your Worcester News with offers to take in her three cats – Squeak, Mr Bubbles and Snuggles – and dog Maddie, a three-year-old spinone bitch.

The Italian Spinone Club of Great Britain have found Maddie a foster home in Uttoxeter with her original breeder where she will be well looked after alongside her mother and sister.

Mrs Rowe, who hopes to move into the temporary flat this Sunday, had earlier managed to secure a temporary home for her briard dog, two-year-old Fifibelle, in Cardiff.

A woman who already has seven cats, who did not wish to be named, has agreed to provide a temporary home for her three cats.

Mrs Rowe hopes the family can be reunited with the pets once they have found a more permanent home. Mrs Rowe, a retired 43-year-old nurse who suffers from depression, said: “There are generous people out there but you don’t know until you ask sometimes. Sometimes it is hard to ask.

“If I ever win the lottery I’m going to start a cat and dog kennel that’s just for fostering. It had just been so traumatic. Animals are part of your family.”

She also revealed how her three children Becky, aged 18, Sarah, 16 and Matthew, nine, had been worried about her since she became depressed about the situation.

Your Worcester News reported on Thursday how Mrs Rowe and her three children were desperate to find somewhere for their four animals to stay after all the animal charities she contacted could not take them.

The family could not take their pets with them to the new temporary flat because Spa Housing, the housing association that manages the property, has a no pet policy.

They are now waiting to see if Wychavon District Council can find them somewhere more permanent to live.

Mrs Rowe said she does not know yet whether this will be within weeks or months of moving into their new temporary home in Droitwich.

She was forced to sell the home following her divorce which meant the family struggled to keep up with bills and mortgage repayments, forcing them into debt.