I've just been contacted by Kloe Jobling who is trying to make a difference to dogs in her area. Sounds like a great idea to me. Here's more info about the Give a Dog a Home campaign:
Introducing: Give a Dog a Home
Tails of abandoned dogs in Sunderland are set to start wagging thanks to a local campaign.
‘Give a Dog a Home’ aims to encourage Sunderland residents to consider adopting a dog from a local shelter instead of buying a puppy.
The campaign also seeks to encourage locals to volunteer at their local shelter with dog walking – keeping you fit whilst giving back to the community.
The campaign is working closely alongside the Sunderland charity Animal Krackers, who care for abandoned cats and dogs and find them happy new homes.
Animal Krackers is a very small charity, but thanks to their dedicated volunteers and generous donations from their Charity Shop in Grangetown, they’ve managed to re-home hundreds of the city’s homeless pets.
Campaign manager Kloe Jobling said: “This time of year is crucial, we want to discourage people from buying puppies for Christmas that could potentially end up being abandoned.
Having a pet as a new addition to a family is not a decision that can be undertaken lightly, and as the saying goes: a dog is for life, not just for Christmas.
If you are serious about the commitment and really want to add a pet to your family then we hope we can encourage you to consider pet adoption.
You can see a selection of dogs up for adoption on the Animal Krackers website, or take a trip to visit the kennels and see them face-to-face.
There are hundreds of fantastic dogs in shelters across the city waiting for the chance to find loving new owners and a home for life; we really hope you can help them.”
The dogs up for adoption each have a profile on the Animal Krackers website, which you can access here: http://www.sunderlandanimaladoption.org.uk/5.htm Alternatively, you can read some of the success stories on the Give a Dog a Home website here: http://giveadogahome2010.blogspot.com/
For further information please contact campaign manager Kloe Jobling via e-mail: giveadogahome2010@gmail.com