Over 100,000 dogs are estimated to be in the care of more than 1000 charities in the UK at any one time, with an estimated 1% of the country’s population of over 9 million dogs being relinquished for rehoming through this route each year. Dogs of all ages, breeds and personalities are given up for adoption each year, all through no fault of their own
Office dog Millie was rescued by Snowdonia Animal Sanctuary and rehomed to us when she was 5 months old. Despite her poor start in life, she is truly the easiest dog to love with, and very much enjoys her role as product tester and website model in the Pet Treats Wholesale office.
Receiving no government funding, charity organisations are able to do their work solely through donations from the public, and through fundraising activities. Since 2022, we have been encouraging customers to leave a donation to us at checkout - using this fund we are then able to actively donate gifts of treats to organisations - to assist in their fundraising efforts, or to go directly to the dogs in their care. Sadly, in 2023 we have had an increase in requests for donations for food banks and community meal projects.
Christmas is the season of giving and in 2023 we ran a giveaway on Facebook - enabling our followers to nominate a charity to receive a hamper full of treats, just in time for Christmas. The winning organisation, Heroes, is a charity that focuses on the rescue and rehoming of Old English Sheepdogs and their associated crosses. We hope the dogs enjoy their goodies!
Whilst donating by sending treats out directly is hugely rewarding, this year we wanted to go a step further, and visit an organisation to see for ourselves the work these charities do, and who we are helping.
On December 20th we went to visit Ashbourne Animal Welfare with a selection of Christmas goodies for the dogs, and to meet some of the staff and volunteers.
Whilst there we met Star, a 2 year old Chihuahua x Jack Russell Terrier. She arrived in March, along with a litter of 4 2 day old puppies. Needing some extra special care, the family went to stay with member of staff Dan on a fostering basis. The puppies thrived and were rehomed a couple of months later, whilst Star had made herself at very much at home and was adopted by Dan!
We also met Luna, a 1 year old Belgian Shepherd Malinois - here’s what AAW have to say about her:
"Luna is a typical Mali - highly intelligent, active and super athletic! She will need a very active home, with plenty of exercise and mental stimulation to keep her busy, ideally with knowledgeable people who are familiar with the breed. She absolutely loves going out on her walks, and is very ball driven.
Luna has been around children, but she’s very lively so this will need to be taken into account. She can be vocal towards other dogs when she’s out on her walks, but this is more from frustration and excitement. There is the potential for her to live with another dog (neutered male), depending on a dog meeting."
We hope Luna finds her forever family soon!
In 2024 we hope to help even more charities - please get in touch with us if we can support you!