Retired RSPCA inspector shares animal rescue experiences

Brian Dalton, a retired inspector, recalls gruelling but rewarding days when the emergency phone number of Worcestershire was shared among fellow tenants from the dingy attic of his rented bedsit.

The phone calls in the middle of the night reporting animals in distress or neglect were part of his responsibility, and he said: "I received calls in the night which roused the household, but they got used to me taking my job home with me.

"There was the novelty of the dogs and other animals I took back to the property.

"It wouldn’t be possible now, but I frequently had to take dogs back to my attic."

Training chief Brian Dalton recalls epic rescues in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk and wife Sue was first female superintendent in charity’s history (Image: Submitted)

Joining the RSPCA at the age of 20, Brian had an insight into animal handling from his work in livestock farming.

After being trained with military-style drills at Roffey College, he worked as a Temporary Duty Inspector covering large cities like Coventry.

However, mobile navigation systems did not exist then.

He said: "Satnavs and mobiles were only the subject of Sci-fi films back then, so we used a pile of maps we’d collected from estate agents to find our way around."

From city life, his work took him to remote coastal areas in Suffolk where he performed night-time beach rescues, saved seals, and even bought fresh fish for starving seals in a temporary hospital during a seal virus outbreak in the 1980s.

RSPCA’s training department in Horsham, Sussex, in 1997 (Image: Submitted)

Upon transitioning to a role at the charity’s training department in Horsham, Brian sought to address the glaring gender gap in Inspectorate recruitment.

He said: "I took a lot of flak for recruiting females, but it was something that needed addressing.

"When I left we had more than 50 per cent female inspectors compared to around 16 per cent previously.

"It wasn’t a case of positive discrimination, it was taking the best people who came through the door, providing a career route and developing our interview processes."

Sue Dalton, herself an animal rescuer, joined the RSPCA in 1983 as the only woman in her training course and climbed the ranks to become the first female superintendent in the charity’s history.

Recalling her experience, she said she faced abuse and was even assaulted while serving summons on those suspected of cruelty and neglect.

Sue as an inspector with two cruelty case dogs (Image: Submitted)

The couple believes if it wasn’t for the RSPCA, many animals would be left in dire situations.

Their work required them to be inventive with sometimes hand-made and borrowed equipment for animal rescue.

Brian said: "New inspectors were very much on their own and we became master scroungers and borrowers of equipment, from ropes and ladders to boats, just to get the job done."

At present, the retired couple reside on the Isle of Skye, yet their commitment to animal welfare remains strong.

Reflecting on their years with the RSPCA, Brian said: "Working for the RSPCA was a way of life and you were driven by your own sense of pride and to do a good job.

Brian pictured first left at his long-service award presentation in 2010 (Image: Submitted)

"We couldn’t think of an animal suffering somewhere and think we’d leave that until the morning."

In the lead up to the RSPCA’s 200th anniversary, its Chief Executive, Chris Sherwood, expressed gratitude for the couple’s service.

He said: "For 200 years we have been changing laws, attitudes and behaviours towards animals.

"But there is still so much more to do.

"Animals are now facing some of the biggest threats in our history, from climate change to intensive farming, from the cost of living to the effects of the pandemic and unless we act urgently, we risk animals’ lives getting worse not better."