ONE of Dogs Trust Evesham’s most overlooked pooches has finally found their forever home during the coronavirus lockdown – after spending more than 2,600 days in Dogs Trust’s care.
Whilst rehoming was paused temporarily at the start of the coronavirus outbreak, rehoming centre staff were able to responsibly find their dogs the right homes through a virtual matching service – using video-based home checks and socially distanced appointments, either at the rehoming centres, or by taking the dogs out to adopters homes.
As demand for dogs has risen sharply since lockdown began, this has meant many adopters have considered dogs that would usually have been overlooked.
One of the long-term lodgers rehomed between March and July, was Little Harry who spent seven years waiting for his new home. But he has now landed on his paws with Nicole Knight from Leicester who was left with a dog-shaped hole in her life after her previous dog continued to live with her ex-partner after they separated.
Little Harry’s new owner, Nicole said, said:
“When I enquired about Little Harry and heard how long he been waiting for a home, it made it all the more special to be given the chance to adopt him. It’s still early days but he has settled in so well. You get so much out of adopting dogs like Harry and whilst everyone says he has landed on his paws with me, I feel like the lucky one to be able to give him a forever home.
“I’ve had him four months now and he’s beginning to adjust to life at home with me. We’re working closely with his training team at Dogs Trust Evesham as he still finds some aspects of life a little bit worrying, but he surprises me everyday with how far he has come.”
Since lockdown began Dogs Trust has seen unprecedented demand for its rescue hounds. From March 23rd – end of July, the charity had 43,365 calls enquiring to rehome a dog. This is a 42% increase on the same timeframe last year. In just one day, the charity had over 1,000 emails from people enquiring about three Dachshund puppies.
However, while lockdown has seen many of our longer-term dogs bidding Dogs Trust farewell and going home with their new families, there are still plenty of others still looking for their forever homes at Dogs Trust Evesham, including Brie, an elderly Collie. Brie is looking for a patient adult family who live in a rural location and can continue with her training. She enjoys a game of fetch, going for walks and learning in exchange for tasty snacks!
Chris Slight, Rehoming Centre Manager at Dogs Trust Evesham, said: “Lockdown has been a challenging time for us all, but we are so happy to see Little Harry finally finding his forever home during this time. We believe that a dog is for life, not just for lockdown so our team has done a fantastic job in matching dogs to the right families during this pandemic and we have no doubt Little Harry will bring lots of joy into his new owner’s life now and for years to come.
“We are grateful to players of People’s Postcode Lottery, whose support has allowed our specialist teams of Canine Carers to continue to give these dogs the best care, and find them their perfect forever homes.
“But the work doesn’t stop here – we still have lots of dogs who are looking for their new homes so, if you feel now really is the right time for you to be getting a dog, take a look at our website to find out more, and Change the Tale for one of our rescue hounds.”
All of the dogs in Dogs Trust’s care are looked after by a dedicated team of Canine Carers and specialist Training and Behaviour Advisors across our network of rehoming centres. Huge thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery whose support helps to fund our dedicated and skilled Canine Carers, allowing them to care for, rehabilitate and rehome around 14,300 dogs each year.
Whilst Dogs Trust rehoming centres are not open for public browsing, since the start of lockdown new processes have been put in place to adopt a dog, which included a virtual matching service and socially distanced appointments to help keep everyone safe.
