Leader of the pack is animal magic!

DEDICATION to the cause . . . Mandy Tierney

In the latest of his Martyn Meets interviews, Martyn Torr talks to Mandy Tierney: the woman who tirelessly transformed the local RSPCA
A DEDICATED animal lover who made Oldham her adopted home has been catapulted into the consciousness of the town after a decade of working tirelessly out of the limelight.

Mandy Tierney gets stopped in Sainsbury’s these days, not quite asked for her autograph, but people outside of her clearly-defined professional circle are beginning to recognise the woman who has transformed the fortunes of the RSPCA in Oldham.

I struggled not to type in the words “single handedly” in that last sentence for, had I done so, 41-year-old Mandy, as lovely and charming as she is, would have marched up Rhodes Bank to the Chronicle offices and suggested I attend one of her neutering clinics.

For this formidable woman heads up 51 staff in Oldham and Bury and is very much part of a team.

OK, she is the branch manager and is without doubt the inspiration and focal point behind the resurgence of this most respected of charitable brands, but Mandy recognises that the RSPCA is nothing without the dedicated team at the animal shelter sandwiched between Union Street and Oldham Way and the people who run the 13 shops, six in Oldham and seven in Bury. Plus a whole host of volunteers — not forgetting the trustees.

This retail empire is about to be expanded as Mandy has negotiated with Tameside and Glossop RSPCA to open 13 shops in their area in return for a percentage of the profits.

All this is a far cry from the early days when the branch had just two charity outlets, in Lees and Springhead, and turnover was £60,000.

Turnover is the current year is predicted to be in excess of £1.5 million, that’s right, it ain’t a typo. One point five million English pounds.

Which goes some way towards explaining why Mandy was on stage at the Queen Elizabeth Hall not so long ago being crowned Business Woman of the Year at the One Oldham Business Awards.

And the loudest cheers as her name was read from the golden envelope came from her excited colleagues who raised the roof as she lightly stepped on to the red carpet — in a pair of carefully chosen shoes from her vast collection — to receive her trophy. And that’s why she’s now recognised in Sainsbury’s when she gets her shopping.

“I was so nervous before the dinner I ran for six miles in the gym,” she confessed as we drank coffee from a paper cup in her office above the shop in Rhodes Bank.

The coffee was paid for by herself and her colleagues — as is all the tea, milk and sugar for staff brews.

“It is something I insist on; I don’t want anyone who puts a few pounds into one of our collecting cans, or spends money in our shops, thinking that their money is going towards anything other than the welfare of the cats and dogs we look after,” she added.

For cats and dogs are the speciality of the centre which has been transformed since Mandy became manager in 2003.

During the interview I was nuzzled constantly by Mollie the boxer, one of Mandy’s four dogs — she also has three cats and four tortoises. Patient husband Darren, as supportive as he is, has said “no more.”

Not that Mandy needs any more for she and the staff treat every one of the animals at Rhodes Bank as if they were personal pets.

Their mission is to find homes for each and every one of these animals and, without fail, they always do. But during their time with the RSPCA they are treated like guests in a five-star animal hotel.

The transformation began not long after Mandy took on the role as branch manager in 2003. Previously working part-time (that’s a misnomer as the office was a back bedroom at her home) as an administrator for the Bury branch Mandy was invited to seek the job at Oldham and, realising she wasn’t cut out to be a stay-at-home mum turned up for the interview.

“I was the last person they saw from about 12 candidates and I really felt I had been rushed. I wasn’t happy when I left, I can tell you,” she almost pouted.

Yet, within 10 minutes of arriving home, the phone rang with the job offer. Mandy took her time making up mind — that is, to tell the trustees she was taking the job, for she was still a bit miffed, but days after taking up the role she faced with a major dilemma.

“On my first day I sat at my desk and looked at the place and thought ‘where do I start?’ and then one of my senior staff told me she was leaving, she had just about enough. I asked her to give me three months and we’d meet again. That was eight years ago and she’s still here and she’s now my deputy manager. And like all of the staff she is a delight to work with.”

The lady in question is Lindsey Luciano who was in post alongside Louise Davey, Lisa Walsh, Roxanne Greenwood and book-keeper Sue Whittall on the day Mandy took over and who are still with the RSPCA.

Now merged with the Bury outlet, which doesn’t have a welfare centre but did have a strong board of trustees and cash reserves, the marriage with Oldham was a match made in animal heaven as Rhodes Bank had the welfare centre and cash flow.

Finally approved by head office in Surrey, after a bid by Rochdale RSPCA to usurp the merger, the expanded branch means animal lovers in the two towns are reaping the benefits through massively-improved facilities, a mobile clinic and much more to come.

For Mandy and her team want a permanent clinic on the expanded and improved site. Planning permission has yet to be gained, plans are not yet drawn and the not inconsiderable matter of £30,000 needs to found.

“We’ll do it . . . we’ll be open before the end of the year,” she says cheerily. I wasn’t about to argue, not with Mollie in close proximity.

“Where will the money come from?” I gently enquire . . . but there is a steely determination in Mandy’s eyes that suggests the problem will be overcome. Maybe a legacy, or a donation, more fund-raising dog shows, or even more shops.

The clinic will be the final piece in the transformation of the welfare centre which now has new cat and dog runs, a refurbished paddock and an outdoor exercise area.

Mandy describes the day when the new outdoor cat run was opened as one of the most memorable days of here life.

“I ordered sandwiches for all the staff, we all sat outside and had our own official opening, just a private affair, and we all sat with tears in our eyes as the cats lolled and sunbathed,” she recalled.

Describing her job as the best in the world, she concluded: “None of us will ever get used to the cruelty we sometimes see but we do learn to live with it. The job becomes part of your life, we all feel the same, because this job isn’t about people, it’s about the animals.”

They couldn’t be in better hands.