As is tradition on New Years Eve, our founder and CEO, Vanessa Waddon, reflects on the last 12 months.

 “Whilst there is much to be positive about, we cannot ignore the fact that we are in the midst of a worsening animal welfare crisis. I am so proud of our staff and volunteer team who have showed incredible resilience in meeting the challenges, despite the emotional toll and inevitable heartbreak resulting from the rising levels of cruelty and neglect we are seeing.

The numbers speak for themselves. This year 901 dogs came through our doors, a record breaking number and 112 more than last year. In line with our founding principles, 488 dogs were stray dogs, many of whom weren’t true strays but dogs that had been deliberately abandoned by their owners. I’m proud that when Caerphilly CBC were left with nowhere for their unclaimed strays to go in October, that we were able to step in and ensure they weren’t put to sleep. This now means we take every unclaimed stray from seven local authorities in South Wales, no matter their age, breed or health. Thanks to continued funding for our welfare team from our friends at Battersea, we’ve been able to rise to these challenges, investing in staff and volunteer training and our adoption and fostering resources. 

Due to the increased challenges, this year we have also focused on the mental health and well-being of our team and are thankful to the wonderful Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo who has worked pro-bono developing a programme of bespoke group and 121 support sessions for our staff.

We’ve continued to support licensing authorities to close down illegal, low welfare and unlicensed breeders by taking in dogs seized under the Animal Welfare Act - 98 this year . We can’t talk about the seizures until the court cases are concluded and this makes fundraising incredibly challenging, but we’re extremely proud of this work and without our support so many more dogs and puppies would be left in a cycle of suffering in puppy farms and backyards. 

Despite rising numbers, providing the highest standards of care for our dogs has been important, and we were proud to receive the RSPCA Pawprints Gold Award once again for our statutory kenneling services.

A proud highlight this year has been the launch of our Hope in the Community programme, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund. With the rise in the number of pet owners in crisis, the aim of the programme is to support dog owners to keep their pets, and is delivered in partnership with community organisations including food banks, housing associations and health and well-being services. The programme is delivered through four strands of activity: outreach days, 1:1 support, support for professionals and community education. Since its launch in May, the project has already delivered 31 community events, worked with 42 community partners, engaged with 420 individuals, and provided direct 1:1 support for 156 dogs.

Sadly, the XL Bully ban has taken its toll on us this year, not only have we had no choice but to put to sleep happy, healthy, and re-homeable dogs purely due to their breed type, the ban has also made rehoming large bull-breed dogs such as American Bulldogs even harder. As part of the Dog Control Coalition and engaging with the Welsh Government’s Responsible Dog Breeding and Ownership initiative, we’ve continued to campaign in support of breed-neutral solutions to the rising issue of dog-related incidents, with a strong focus on improving breeding regulations and more investment in enforcement.

As a member of the #CutTheChase coalition we continued to campaign for a phased end to greyhound racing and were pleased to see the outcome of the recent Welsh Government consultation which showed that 65% of respondents supported a phased ban of this inherently dangerous activity. We were, however, disappointed that any decision on the future of greyhound racing in Wales has been pushed back to Spring 2025, continuing to leave dogs racing in Wales at significant risk of injury or death.

Income generation remains a challenge during the cost-of-living crisis. With the need to raise in excess of £6,000 per day to meet our running costs,  we launched a new retail strategy that saw us open new shops in Pontyclun and Blackwood. We’ve also got a further two shops in the pipeline, watch this space!

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has helped us achieve so much in 2024 – our supporters, shop customers, staff, volunteers, rescue partners and funders.

A special thank you also to our Board of Trustees, whom we have worked closely with to deliver our strategic plans and who share our vision of a future where all dogs are treated with care, kindness, and respect.

As we approach our 20th anniversary next year, we’re excited to embark on the next stage of our journey, helping as many pets and people as we can on the way. I’ll leave you with a photo of Mime (on the left) who was adopted earlier today, our last dog to find a new home in 2024!