Kiwi’s story has broken our rescue-hardened hearts this week, this lovely girl arrived at Hope Rescue earlier this week and it really has broken us as a team.

She came in as a stray, a very bewildered elderly Staffie girl who looked like her whole world had collapsed. We didn’t want her to stay in kennels at her age, and after a thorough vet check she moved to one of our lovely foster homes. 

She started on pain relief for arthritis and lameness and was due for X rays if the lameness didn't improve with medication. Sadly after 24 hours in foster she passed away. We had received reports that she had been deliberately abandoned. 

Hope Rescue Head of Operations Sara Rosser said:

"Abandoning your poorly, elderly dog in the pound is not okay. Abandoning your dog knowing it was likely ill is even less okay. 

"Putting that upset and heartbreak on rescue centre staff and volunteers is not okay. We would ask the public that if you are struggling for any reason, that you reach out to your nearest rescue centre for advice. Abandoning your dog when they need you most is not the answer. 

"We’re so grateful to our foster carer for giving her comfort and love at the end, ensuring that she didn’t pass away in kennels. We’re proud of our ethos that no dog gets left behind in the seven local authorities we work with across South Wales.

We take every dog, irrespective of age, breed or health."

Sadly Kiwi’s story isn’t an isolated one, the abandonment of end-of-life dogs is becoming increasingly common. Whilst it’s really tough on the team, we choose to work with stray dogs as they don’t have anyone else looking out for them. If you would like to support our work with strays, please consider a regular gift from as little as £5 a month, simply click on the link here.