Plea to rehome a dog this Christmas as number of stray animals continues to rise

More than a thousand dogs have been taken in by Stray Aid in 2022 with less people coming forward to rehome them – which means the pooches end up staying with the charity for longer.

Stray Aid has been helping councils in Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, County Durham and Darlington look after the dogs.

If the strays are not reunited with their owners within seven days then ownership transfers to the council and the animals are donated to Stray Aid, where they are vaccinated microchipped and treated for fleas and worms.

When Lee Henderson first joined the charity 10 years ago, they took in around 1,500 dogs over the course of that year.

Numbers then started to go down although Covid and the cost-of-living crisis have resulted in another boom of stray animals.

Lee, who is community engagement and kennel manager at Stray Aid, has said some dog owners have been forced to give up their pets as costs rocket.

“The last few months the numbers are just getting ridiculous. The cost of living doesn’t help,” Lee said.

"Our priority is to reunite, but a lot of people aren’t coming forward and we are getting more and more phone calls from people wanting to hand in dogs.

"It’s a big demand, but it’s not just us, it’s nationwide.”

He added: "Everybody seems to be struggling with the cost of living and unfortunately dogs, even though they are part of the family, seem to be the thing that people are trying to get rid of.”

Pets at Home Hartlepool has joined Stray Aid in a festive bid to help find some of the poochies a new home this Christmas.

There are currently 24 dogs waiting to be rehomed, with over 60 on site going through the process.

Shaun Palmer, Suzy Day and Leanne Morse from Pets at Home visited the charity in Coxhoe for a special 12 dogs of Christmas photoshoot which will promote some of the dogs that need to be rehomed.

The store has been fundraising for Stray Aid for a number of years with customers donating more than 5,000 cans of dog food this year alone.

"We have very generous customers in Hartlepool,” said Shaun.

Speaking of Stray Aid, he added: “They are a really good local charity. They’ve got quite a lot of love in the area as well. Without the support of the public, they wouldn’t be in as good position to feed the many dogs that they are getting.”

"They are a great bunch, they always help us out with different things and they are always fundraising for us,” added Lee.

He has urged people considering getting a pet to think carefully about the costs that come with it.

"There is a lot to take on board. It’s a big commitment,” he said.

Contact Stray Aid via strayaid.org.uk if you wish to rehome a pet.

You can also donate at the Pets at Home Hartlepool store in Highpoint Retail Park, in Marina Way.