Dogs Trust

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Dogs Trust

Type	Charity
Founded	1891
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Industry	Animal welfare
Slogan	Dogs Trust never put a healthy dog down.
Website	http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/

The Dogs Trust, formerly known as the National Canine Defence League, is an animal welfare charity and humane society in the United Kingdom which specialises in the wellbeing of dogs. The charity provides kennels for dogs which are abandoned or given up by their owners. It also runs microchipping and neutering schemes, in order to reduce the number of stray dogs which must be put down.

The Dogs Trust was founded in 1891 at a meeting during the first Crufts show chaired by Lady Gertrude Stock. Known as the National Canine Defence League (NCDL), it campaigned against vivisection, unnecessary muzzling and prolonged chaining, as well as providing care for stray dogs. It also campaigned against cruel treatment of dogs by railway companies, who often refused to provide water for dogs. More unusually, in the 1920s, it provided AA wardens with pistols. This was because dogs and other animals were often involved in car accidents, and the pistols were provided to allow the wardens to euthanise the animal. In 1957, the NCDL campaigned against the use of the Russian space dogs in space flight, organising a minute's silence in honour of Laika, who died in orbit from overheating and stress.

More recently, the Dogs Trust has started to campaign against docking of tails and unnecessary euthanasia, such as that carried out on foxhounds after fox hunting was banned by the Hunting Act 2004. It also offers free neutering services in certain poorer countries with the aim of reducing feral populations.

The charity is best known for its slogan "A Dog is for life, not just for Christmas", which is used either in full or shortened to "A Dog is for life" in advertising. The phrase was created to reduce the number of dogs which are abandoned as unwanted gifts, or because they are more difficult to care for than first thought.

Dogs Trust tries to rehome most dogs which it cares for, with 17 adoption centres across the UK, as well as two large mobile ones, known as dogmobiles, built in the trailers of lorries. However, some dogs are too aggressive, scared or mentally affected as a result of neglect or abuse, making them difficult to rehome. As Dogs Trust never euthanises healthy dogs, they have developed a range of services to encourage the rehoming of dogs and schemes to lower the number of stray and abandoned on the streets. They have also created a sanctuary where selected dogs can live together free from excessive human contact.