Christmas puppies already in dogs home

Staff at the charity’s 17 rehoming centres across the UK are busy caring for Christmas canine casualties.

At Dogs Trust Leeds, a 14-week Greyhound crossbreed puppy was brought into the Rehoming Centre on December 28. His owners purchased him on Christmas Eve, but after only a few days decided to give him up as he is not yet housetrained and began chewing the children’s other Christmas presents.

Dogs Trust Leeds manager, Amanda Sands, said: “We have renamed this little pup Scrabble and hope to find him a new home in January with a family that have the time to train a puppy. Scrabble was bought as a Christmas present and his owners did not realise how much time is involved in looking after a puppy. Unlike toys they don’t come with an off switch and puppies certainly need lots of training.”

Eight-week-old Yorkshire Terrier crossbreed puppy, Cluedo, was brought into Dogs Trust Canterbury on the same day, after a lady walking her dog in the woods was approached by a woman trying to sell the young puppy to passers by.

Dogs Trust Canterbury manager, Adam Levy, said: “We believe little Cluedo was an unwanted Christmas present and his owner was hoping that dog owners walking their pets around the woods would take pity on him and buy him. If no one bought him the woman said she would dump him in the woods, so we are grateful to the lady who brought him to us.”

For more than 33 years, Dogs Trust has been saying that “A Dog is For Life, Not Just for Christmas”, but many children and their parents still consider a puppy as a suitable present.

Both Scrabble and Cluedo will be looking for new homes in January. Anyone interested in rehoming the puppies should contact Dogs Trust Canterbury for Cluedo on 01227 792505 or Dogs Trust Leeds for Scrabble on 0113 2814920.