| Type | Charity |
|---|---|
| Industry | Animal welfare |
| Founded | 1891 |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Key people | Clarissa Baldwin CEO |
| Website | www.dogstrust.org.uk |
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 rehabilitates and finds new homes for dogs which have been abandoned or given up by their owners. People are encouraged to sponsor a dog for at least £1 a week, even if they are not able to rehome the dog. It also runs microchipping and neutering schemes in the United Kingdom and abroad, in order to reduce the number of unwanted litters of puppies and stray dogs put to sleep by other organisations.
Dogs Trust has 17 rehoming centres across the UK, and its first international rehoming centre opened in November 2009 in Dublin.[1] The charity never puts a healthy dog to sleep. [2].
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The National Canine Defence League (NCDL) was founded in 1891 at a meeting during the first Crufts show chaired by Lady Gertrude Stock. The NCDL 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 as a last resort in the worst cases. 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. In 2003, the NCDL was rebranded as Dogs Trust.[3]
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. It was created in 1978 by then head of public relations Clarissa Baldwin, who is now Chief Executive of the charity.[4] The slogan is a registered trademark. More recently, Dogs trust have adopted another slogan: "Dogs Trust Never Put a Healthy Dog Down".
Dogs Trust tries to rehome most dogs which it cares for and runs 17[5] rehoming centres across the UK and Ireland, as well as two large mobile rehoming units known as Dogmobiles. These are large vehicles fitted with air conditioned kennels and are specially designed to tour the local area, carrying a small number of dogs from nearby rehoming centres that are desperately seeking new homes.[6]
Dogs Trust never euthanises healthy dogs, however some dogs may have had a particularly bad start in life and would not be happy living in a normal home environment. The charity takes care of these dogs under its popular Sponsor a Dog scheme.
They have also created a sanctuary where selected dogs can live together free from excessive human contact.
There are currently centres in
The charity is currently building its eighteenth UK rehoming centre in Leicestershire. Dogs Trust Loughborough aims to be the greenest animal rescue centre in the world and will run on renewable energy from its biomass boiler, green roofs, under-floor heating, solar thermal panels, photovotaic panels and a rainwater recycling system. The project will be constructed with the aim to achieve BREEAM (BRE Environment Assessment Method) outstanding classification and the highest levels of sustainability. The charity says the facilities will significantly reduce running costs. [7]
Dogs Trust has campaigned 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 and runs international training programmes for other animal welfare charities with the aim of reducing feral populations.
In 2010 the charity introduced the term battery farming of dogs to associate the practice of puppy farming in the minds of the public with that of battery farming of chickens, and aims to educate the public as to where they can safely go to buy a ‘cruelty free dog’.[8]
Dogs Trust has an annual charity event held at locations across the UK, where members of the public can complete either a 5km or 10km walk around a course in an area which is usually close to the rehoming centre for that location. For the 2010 Waggy walks, there were 10 locations, and the walks took place on Sunday 3rd October 2010, the locations of the walks were,[9]
| Location | Centre |
|---|---|
| Ormeau Park, Belfast | Ballymena |
| Coventry War Memorial Park | Kenilworth |
| Temple Newsam, Leeds | Leeds |
| Sherdley Park, Merseyside | Merseyside |
| Wynyard Woodland Park, Stockton-On-Tees | Darlington |
| Stanmer Park, Brighton | Shoreham |
| Tollcross Park, Glasgow | Glasgow |
| Finsbury Park, London | Harefield |
| Old Sarum Castle, Salisbury | Salisbury |
| Margam Country Park, South Wales | Bridgend |
In 2008 the charity created Dogs Trust Honours, an annual 'doggy Pride of Britain' awards ceremony celebrating the relationship between human and dog and honouring dogs who have greatly helped their owner, local community or society. [10]
| Year | Dogs Cared For | Dogs Rehomed | Dogs Reunited With Owners | Dogs Passed Away / Put To Sleep [11] | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 15,886 | 13,909 | 178 | 226 | [12] |
| 2008 | 16,238 | 14,169 | 190 | 260 | [12] |
| 2007 | 16,177 | 14,022 | 185 | 334 | [13] |
| 2006 | 15,162 | 12,993 | 192 | 215 | [14] |
| 2005 | 13,506 | 11,563 | 168 | 273 | [15] |
On closer examination of the charity's own 2010 annual report, at the bottom of page 19 it shows some staff on the donation-funded Dog's Trust payroll earning... 1x over £120,000 1x over £100,000 2x over £90,000 4x over £70,000 and 2x over £60,000, and £100,000 to their pension funds whilst other volunteers at the frontline of Dog's Trust donate their time free of charge.