Struggle to give a dog a home

Workers at charities in Dudley, Oldbury and Coven, near Wolverhampton, have all revealed they are struggling to rehome animals.

To compound the problem, Dudley Animal Rescue and the Save An Abandoned Dog Rescue, in Oldbury, are being inundated with new animals and are struggling to raise enough funds to pay for food and vets' bills.

In the past week the charities have received more than 20 calls from people wanting to get rid of family pets. They also desperately need more foster carers to look after animals while they are found a new permanent home.

Marion Fisher, who runs Dudley Animal Rescue, said: "The last six months have been the worst I have known in more than 11 years in trying to rehouse animals.

"People just don't seem to want pets any more.

Shirley Cresswell, who runs the Save An Abandoned Dog Rescue, said she had got six young dogs awaiting new homes.

"People just don't seem to want dogs any more.We seem to live in a throwaway society and, unfortunately, animals are just part of that."

Sunnyside Kennels in Coven, near Wolverhampton, is experiencing the same problems.

Manager Karen Doy said: "We have been like this for a few weeks now. We managed to rehome a few dogs at the weekend but we expect to be full again today when some more dogs come in.

"We don't know why it has got so bad, maybe because of the bad publicity of recent dog attacks, but apart from that we can't think why."

In Staffordshire, the Border Collie Trust, based in Colton near Rugeley, had its busiest and most successful year last year, when it rehomed 526 border collies.

Trustee Ben Wilkes said the situation was getting worse.

"I think almost all rescue homes are in the same boat and from our point of view it is not just the time of year, it is a 12 month thing," he said.

"We have 40 kennels here but if we had 100 we could probably fill them straight away and we would still have a waiting list."

To give a dog a home call Marion on 01902 676559 or Shirley on 0121 4231344.

By Jon Wood