Heartbreak over abandoned dogs (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Heartbreak over abandoned dogs

2:58pm Wednesday 1st February 2012 in News

IT broke my heart to read of hundreds of dogs being abandoned at a charity after the most heartless Christmas ever.

The Dogs Trust took in 1,609 animals between its 17 rehoming shelters in December.

Staff said the reasons given were the worst they had ever heard – from the dog not liking the visitors to the owners wanting to go away for Christmas.

A beautiful 14-week-old greyhound cross was left with the Trust because he nibbled the Christmas presents.

A six-week-old Yorkshire Terrier was abandoned in woods. Luckily, a passer-by spotted her.

A recent survey revealed 126,176 stray dogs were picked up by local author-ities between April 2010 and March 2011 and over 7,100 were destroyed. That is almost one per hour.

I have been a patron of the Dogs Trust for many years and advocate all the good work they do. Their motto is “We never put a healthy dog down”.

When you read the stories and see the photographs in their Wag magazine, it brings home just how dedicated the staff at rehoming centres are.

L M Jackson (Mrs).