Dogs Trust, known until 2003 as the National Canine Defence League, is a British

animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevit ...

charity and humane society which specialises in the well-being of dogs. It is the largest dog welfare charity in the United Kingdom, caring for over 15,000 animals each year. Dogs Trust's primary objective is to protect all dogs in the UK and elsewhere from maltreatment, cruelty and suffering. It focuses on the rehabilitation and rehoming of dogs which have been either abandoned or given up by their owners through rehoming services. Dogs Trust has 22 rehoming centres across the UK and Ireland. Its first international rehoming centre opened in November 2009 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, Ireland. Its charity guidelines ensure that no mentally or physically healthy dog taken into the protection of its rehoming centres are euthanised. Dogs Trust also manages microchipping and neutering schemes in the United Kingdom and abroad, in order to reduce the number of unwanted litters of puppies and

stray Stray or The Stray or ''variation'', may refer to: Animals * A feral (abandoned or escaped) domestic animal; see also estray * A stray or free-ranging dog Places * Areas of open grassland in North Yorkshire: ** Strays of York ** The Stray (Har ...

dogs.

History

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 Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for experimen ...

, unnecessary muzzling and prolonged chaining, as well as providing care for stray dogs. It also campaigned against the 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 Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

the animal as a last resort in the worst cases. In November 1939, the NCDL spoke out against the mass euthanisation of approximately 750,000 pet dogs and cats upon the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. 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. In 2016 the Trust declared an income of £98.4 million and expenditure of £86 million. In 2017 the Trust declared an income of £106.4 million, an increase of £8 million from 2016. In November 2017, Dogs Trust assisted in the effort to reduce dog homelessness in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

, by contributing to the funding of a major rehoming centre. On 14 March 2019, Dogs Trust officially unveiled plans to open a new rehoming centre in Cardiff in 2021. 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 by Clarissa Baldwin, the former

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

of the charity, to reduce the number of dogs which are abandoned as unwanted. The slogan is a registered

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from oth ...

. More recently it has adopted another slogan: "Dogs Trust Never Put a Healthy Dog Down". During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, they adapted this slogan to "A Dog is for Life, not just for Lockdown".

Rehoming

Rehoming aims to re-home most dogs under its protection at the Dog Trust's 22 re-homing centres across the UK and Ireland. It also obtains 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. Dogs Trust never euthanises healthy dogs, however some dogs suffering from potential trauma are unable to be rehabilitated in order to live in a normal home environment. The charity takes care of these dogs under its popula
Sponsor a Dog scheme
They have also created an animal sanctuary where selected dogs unable to be re-homed can live together free from excessive human contact. List of Dogs Trust rehoming centres: * Ballymena * Basildon *

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington under ...

* Manchester (Denton) *

, Ireland *

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon. It lies within the Vale of Ev ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

* Harefield (West London) * Ilfracombe * Kenilworth *

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

* Loughborough *

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral ...

* Newbury * Shrewsbury (Roden) *

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

(and sanctuary) * Shoreham * Snetterton * West Calder *

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

At the beginning of June 2012, the charity opened its eighteenth UK re-homing centre in Leicestershire. Dogs Trust Loughborough aims to be the greenest animal rescue centre in the world. The center runs on renewable energy from its biomass boiler, green roofs, under-floor heating, solar thermal panels, photovoltaic panels and a rainwater recycling system. The project will be constructed with the aim to achieve

BREEAM BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), first published by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in 1990, is the world's longest established method of assessing, rating, and certifying the sustainability of ...

(BRE Environment Assessment Method) outstanding classification and the highest levels of sustainability. The charity says the facilities will significantly reduce running costs.

Campaigns

Dogs_Trust_fund_raising_Leicester_Square_tube_station

Dogs Trust has campaigned against docking of tails and unnecessary euthanasia, such as that carried out on foxhounds after

fox hunting Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of h ...

was banned by the

Hunting Act 2004 The Hunting Act 2004 (c 37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of most wild mammals (notably foxes, deer, hares and mink) with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions; the ...

. It also offers free neutering services in certain poorer countries and runs international training programs for other animal welfare charities to reduce

feral A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...

populations.

Puppy Farming

In 2010 the charity introduced the term 'battery farming of dogs' to associate the practice of

Puppy farming A puppy mill, also known as a puppy farm, is a commercial dog breeding facility characterized by quick breeding and poor conditions. Although no standardized legal definition for "puppy mill" exists, a definition was established in ''Avenson v. Z ...

in the minds of the public with that of

battery farming Battery cages are a housing system used for various animal production methods, but primarily for egg-laying hens. The name arises from the arrangement of rows and columns of identical cages connected together, in a unit, as in an artillery batt ...

of chickens, and aims to educate the public as to where they can safely go to buy a 'cruelty-free dog'.

Compulsory Microchipping

In 2009 Dogs Trust started the process towards making microchipping compulsory for all dogs. They successfully lobbied for changes to the laws in the United Kingdom to make that happen starting in 2015. In 2017 they declared the program a success and lead the public to believe that their microchip program reduced the stray population of dogs in the UK and prevented euthanasia. However, they failed to mention that they had nearly doubled the amount of spay/neuter services for five years leading into the implementation of compulsory implant of microchips in all dogs in the UK, and have promoted a misconception that microchips (returns to owner) instead of spay/neuter reduces the population and prevents euthanasia. The following is a table of the UK dog population and the Dogs Trust spay/neuter and microchip services published by Dogs Trust.

Puppy smuggling

Since 2014, Dogs Trust has been working to reveal the cruel puppy smuggling trade. They have released yearly reports detailing this trade and encouraged MPs to back their campaign. This has included intercepting puppies far too young to be imported into the country and pregnant dogs being smuggled in so their puppies can be born and then sold in the UK. Dogs Trust set up the "Puppy Pilot", a scheme to intercept, care and rehabilitate puppies seized at ports before they are re-homed through the charity. In 2020 they continued this campaign, highlighting "Dogfishing". These are scams where apparently healthy pets are bought but suddenly fall ill or die soon after.

Celebrity support

; Patrons * Ruth Langsford (Patron; 2012—) * Eamonn Holmes (Patron; 2012—) * John Barrowman ; TV game show winnings * Jodie Prenger – £15,750 on '' The Chase: Celebrity Special'' (16 September 2012) * Eamonn Holmes – £3,100 on '' Tipping Point: Lucky Stars'' (4 August 2013) * Natasha Hamilton – £15,000 on '' Big Star's Little Star'' (23 April 2014) * Johnny Vegas and Maia Dunphy – £15,000 on '' All Star Mr & Mrs'' (18 June 2014) * Camilla Dallerup – £250 on '' Pointless Celebrities'' (29 November 2014) * Gary Delaney – £11,000 on '' Celebrity Fifteen to One'' (21 August 2015)

Outreach

Freedom Project

Dogs Trust Freedom Project provides foster care for dogs so those suffering domestic abuse can escape from these situations. The service operates in Greater London and the Home Counties ( Hertfordshire,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, Surrey,

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an a ...

, Bedfordshire,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...

and

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Be ...

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

(

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...

and

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, the North East and North West of England and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. This essential service allows people to find safety in refuges which often don't accept pets.

Hope Project

Dogs Trust has been working with

homelessness Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

charities, such as St Mungos, throughout the United Kingdom for over 20 years to help support dogs owned by people in housing crisis. This includes giving out Christmas gift packages including items such as dog treats, leads and dog coats. The Project also helps those struggling with vets bills for their dogs.

Events

Waggy Walks

From 2009 to 2011, Dogs Trust held an annual charity event held at locations across the UK, where members of the public could complete either a 5 km or 10 km walk around a course in an area which is usually close to the rehoming centre for that location.

Dogs Trust Honours

In 2008, the charity created Dogs Trust Honours, an annual 'Doggy Pride of Britain Awards' ceremony celebrating the relationship between

Human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

and dog and honouring dogs who have greatly helped their owner, local community or society.

Hampton Court Flower Show 2016

To mark the charity's 125th anniversary, a garden entitled "A Dog's Life" was designed by

Paul Hervey-Brooks Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

and built by

G K Wilson Landscapes G, or g, is the seventh letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''gee'' (pronounced ), plural ''gees''. History T ...

was shown at Hampton Court Flower Show 2016. It won a gold medal. The garden offered a semi-formal and contemporary area for both dogs and people. This included dog-friendly features and planting including tunnels and "sniffer tracks".

Rehoming figures

References

External links

Dogs Trust homepageMore to Dogs Trust
- details of Dogs Trust Outreach projects
Learn with Dogs TrustHow To Build Trust With Your Dog
{{Authority control Animal charities based in the United Kingdom 1891 establishments in the United Kingdom Animal welfare organisations based in the United Kingdom Dog welfare organizations Animal rescue groups Organizations established in 1891 Dogs in the United Kingdom