When Stephanie Walker of Walker's Animal Shelter was six years old, her family adopted Oscar, a baby crow that had fallen out of a tree. Without their help, Oscar would have died. Without Oscar, Stephanie's passion for rescuing animals in need may not have begun.

Today she has more than a hundred animals in her care: sixty cats, three or more dogs, a llama, a horse, a couple of sheep, a small herd of goats, several rabbits (one nurses motherless kittens), a flock of chickens, several hamsters and seven homing pidgins.

With dogged determination and persistence, she takes in any animals that need her help, fixes them up with the support of veterinarian, Dr. Brett Hayward, who donates a lot of his services, and puts them up for adoption.

If they aren't adopted she gives them a home for life.

"The centre is open twenty four hours a day, seven days a week," Parnell Walsh told me, "and Stephanie will take in hopeless cases that others would put to sleep."

Two quick stories will help you understand the shelter better.

Darlin' Diamond is a cat that must have escaped from a house fire. She turned up early on a Sunday morning when all other services were closed. Her whiskers were singed, her paws burned and she weighed only four pounds. Today, given round the clock attention and a little help from Dr. Hayward, she weighs ten pounds and she'll soon be ready for adoption. Interested?

Then there is Whisper, a dog that came with an unexpected gift attached.

For days, Brett Ranger, a Doman Forest Product employee, kept sharing his sandwiches with a sick and abandoned dog in the Nanaimo Lakes area trying to gain her trust so he could catch her and bring her to the centre. Then one day he saw her lying by the roadside unable to run. She had been hit by a car.

When Whisper arrived at the centre - Stephanie gives all of her animals a name -- they discovered that, as well as the injuries from the car, she had a massive flee infection and she was terribly anemic. Once again with round the clock care and attention and a generous grooming visit donated by Dog and Suds, Whisper is almost ready for adoption.

Whisper is getting on in years but if any dog deserves a good home, she does. Interested?

But what's this about Whisper's gift?

When Brett's boss at Doman's heard the story, he called Stephanie and, on behalf of the company, will soon donate enough lumber to build six dog kennels and a mini barn. Good on you guys!

Given this lumber, Stephanie is now looking for volunteers with construction skills. Interested?

The biggest challenge at the centre is raising funds. Do you know anyone with marketing or fundraising experience? All donations are tax deductible.

Six year old Jessica Knelson has done her bit. Instead of getting birthday presents, she asked her family and friends to donate money to the centre. She raised $125.

Joyce and Peter Engbrecht of Vancouver go to all the pet food stores in their area and collect soon to be outdated food and deliver it to the centre.

The 49th Parallel donates food as well but no one is approaching other stores here. Interested?

Then there are ongoing garage sales, hotdog sales and Beer and Burger Nights at the Cranberry Inn - The next Beer and Burger Night is Friday, July 18 at 6:00 pm.

More than once people on the outside have expected the centre to be forced to close due to a lack of funds but it hasn't. That's because Stephanie has found her passion, she is incredibly persistent and she expects to succeed - That's the sort of stuff that makes a Neighbourhood Hero.

You can reach Stephanie at 722-7071.