Friends of Birkenhead Kennels appealing for more support as figures reveal 562 dogs were taken to council-run facility in just eight months

Dec 21 2011 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

MORE than 560 lost and abandoned dogs were taken to Wirral’s council kennels in just seven months.

The figures were revealed this week as the Friends of Birkenhead Kennels made an appeal for readers to come forward and show their support.

The group has now raised nearly £20,000 but members say they desperately need help with repairs, organising events and more donations.

Of the 562 dogs that went through the kennels from May to November this year, 305 were reclaimed and 138 were re-homed. Others went to welfare and rescue organisations and some had to be destroyed because they were aggressive or because of illness.

Many of the dogs found loving new homes with owners who read about them in our regular Give a Dog a Home feature.

But as the News went to press, the Corporation Road kennels were almost filled to capacity again.

Friends’ co-founder Antje Tucker said: “We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved but it’s very frustrating to go back and see the kennels full again.

“We cannot help directly with cleaning or walking the dogs but we’d love to have more volunteers who can help with organising fundraising events.

“We also need people to help with the fundraising – poster distribution, storage of donations and manning stalls and we are looking for a venue for our Bollywood night at the end of March. We are looking to pay for some more improvements to the kennels, such as flooring in one of the blocks, and we are urgently looking for a company who could help us fulfil this necessary repair as soon as possible.

“The kennel tumble-dryer broke down a few months ago and we managed to get an industrial one donated.”

After Wirral News first covered the group’s efforts in May 2010, the kennels was inundated with donations of blankets, beds, toys and treats.

But with the facility rapidly running out of storage space, the priority now is raising money for a relocation fund.

The Friends were granted charitable status in October and another goal for 2012 is to apply for grants which are now open to them.

They say most of the dogs featured in the paper this year now have new homes.

Antje added: “We can’t thank the News enough for keeping the kennels in the public eye all year round.

“Readers may remember Bruce, who featured in the photo celebrating our charity status, or Paddy in last week’s paper.

“They were re-homed and are now looking forward to a nice Christmas with their new families.”