Animal rescue charity is rehomed in Blackhall Colliery

Stray Aid has moved into new premises in Middle Street, Blackhall Colliery.

“We had a shop in Easington for the last six years, but we decided to move into bigger premises here,” said assistant manager Lee Henderson.

Although the charity is based in Coxhoe, it accepts animals from a wide catchment area.

“The charity itself has been going for ten years now,” said Lee.

“We take in stray dogs from County Durham, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough - last year we had over 1,500.”

The shop raises money to support the day-to-day running of the shelter, as well as any veterinary treatment the animals may require when they arrive.

Dogs stay a minimum of just over a week in order to ensure they are healthy enough to be rehomed, but some require care for much longer.

“The money raised from the shop goes towards keeping the dogs fed and watered.

“When they come in, they have to stay for ten days to make sure everything is okay,” said Lee.

“Some dogs may go straight out the day they become available for rehoming, but others we can have for months.

“We can also have a lot of veterinary expenses when they first come in.

“We neuter them all, we vet-check them, we flea and worm them and microchip them before they go for adoption.

“The shop opening went really well and we had a lot of interest.

“Hopefully we can build up a new customer base and do really well here.”