"In June this year, 10 ARK dogs will go to find new homes through the famous Battersea Dogs Home in London. Although in the past ARK has sent individual dogs abroad for rehousing, this is the first time so many Japanese dogs have been sent from a shelter in Japan to find homes in another country. Why send dogs to Britain and why to Battersea? Battersea Dogs Home is the oldest shelter in the world, with a 160-year history. It has enormous prestige, and it is said that it is more difficult to adopt a dog from Battersea than it is to adopt a child in Britain. In Britain, dogs are no longer sold in pet shops. When people want dogs, they go to breeders directly, or more often they adopt from shelters."

Elizabeth Oliver of England opened the Animal Refuge Kansai in 1990. She turned away no animal that needed help. She took in severely abused, abandoned and suffering cats and dogs, ponies, goats, geese, ducks and chickens. She said, "There are numerous deserving charities which need one's help and support, but they have voices of their own, and enough people to listen to them. Animals, on the other hand, have no voice . I felt I understood them as well as anybody, so it was natural that I should help them."

Graduated from the University of Nottingham, Elizabeth first came to Japan in 1965, "out of curiosity," she said. She returned to the U.K. to study Japanese at London University. Three years later she came again to Japan, and began teaching at the Osaka Institute of Technology.

She rented a house near the city, but as the urban area encroached she began looking for somewhere in the country. She restored a farmhouse that was "in terrible condition," in the mountainous area of Nose.

She said: "My early days were a lot of fun. I had everything I had ever wanted, an easy job, enough money to travel, many friends, a house in the country and animals. But I felt in a sense my life wasn't complete. I needed a cause to work for."

The cause came to her as she began rescuing abandoned dogs. Elizabeth contemplated a nonprofit, nonsubsidized organization dedicated to providing shelter for abandoned, unwanted, ill-treated animals, "some of them having physical injuries, skin problems, many malnourished and frightened of people." The aim of the organization would be to find caring homes for the animals. She said, "I knew I couldn't save them all, but I could make a big difference ."

Her first house and land were too small for her new requirements. After searching for three years, she found a piece of mountain that had the setting she wanted. "It had no electricity, no water supply, no access, and was classified as agricultural land. Surmounting all these obstacles and actually building a house took 10 years of my life. "

From 1990, ARK grew slowly and steadily. "Then in seconds, everything changed. The Great Hanshin Earthquake struck Kobe."

By the following day, Elizabeth had taken in 600 animals. "It was a turning point. We couldn't go back to being a small group. Volunteers arrived from all over Japan and all over the world."

Nowadays ARK is a registered NPO. A devoted paid staff of 30 plus equally devoted volunteers look after 300 dogs and 200 cats. Most of the food is donated by pet food companies, leaving all other costs, including veterinary fees, to be borne by ARK. Elizabeth said, "It is sad to say but over 1,200 pet dogs and cats are gassed every day in the animal pounds of Japan. One of the reasons we are sending 10 ARK dogs to England is to highlight this needless killing, and to demonstrate that crossbred dogs make loving family pets. It is ironic that while English breeds of dogs are at the height of popularity in Japan, Japanese-type dogs are growing in popularity in Britain."

ARK is looking for people to help sponsor these 10 dogs on their journeys to new lives. Each sponsor will be kept informed of the dogs' progress.