00:00Today we're at the RSPCA Lancashire East branch to speak to Amy and Sue about how the rescue is
00:08being impacted by the rehoming crisis. We're also here to meet Scooby and Butter's two adorable dogs
00:18who are looking for a permanent place to call home. The amount of dogs that are abandoned
00:26we find that from the inspectorate point of view they come to the inspector and then come through
00:30to the centre. So we have a waiting list of animals that want to come in and we're only
00:34licensed for 14 dogs and we're constantly full, we're always full to capacity. So with our dogs
00:41we're not getting as many applications for the dogs that we've got at the moment. It's certainly
00:45slowed down on adoptions which means that we can't take any more animals into the centre.
00:50Why do you think there are so many dogs being abandoned?
00:53I think the cost of living is something that's affected a lot of people. There are a lot of
00:56people that have to give up their animals, not necessarily voluntarily but it's just a crisis
01:01that people can't afford them and it's the first thing that people will have to give up.
01:05Which means that we end up with more people waiting for their animals to come into the centre
01:10and when we're full capacity we can't necessarily take them in straight away. We have a waiting list
01:14system so as soon as we have a kennel available we will contact them and ask them to bring them in
01:18but in some cases that means it's just too long for people to wait which means that they're
01:22abandoned. What sort of situations are the dogs that have been abandoned? What sort of
01:28situations have they faced? Neglect. They're not going to see the vet so they're not having any
01:35medical treatment. If they've got skin problems it can cause fur loss, obviously starvation if
01:42people can't afford to feed the dogs, feeding the wrong diets that can affect them as well.
01:46So you then start off with an animal that's got medical issues so they then come into the centre
01:52the medical issues have to be dealt with before we can put them up for rehoming which again slows
01:56down the space in the kennel being available. When it comes to rehoming what's important for
02:01the branch to consider? People that want to adopt a dog they may come forward for a particular type
02:07of dog. They see a dog that's on our website and they think that's perfect for them but they may
02:12come forward and they're not necessarily the right person for that dog. That's not saying that they're
02:16not the right person for a dog but not for that particular one and if we think there is one that
02:20is more suitable we will pull them in that direction. What might be the impact on a dog if
02:25you rehome it in a place that's not suitable for it? It ends up coming back to the centre which then
02:32causes more psychological problems for the dog. It's been in a home it thinks that everything's
02:36okay and then it has to come back to the centre and we have to start again and it can have twice
02:40the problems it had in the first place because it's not been rehomed properly. So we are, although it
02:45seems that we are strict we do know our dogs and we want to make sure that they go to the right
02:49people the first time and live a long and happy life with them. When did Butters come into the
02:54branch and what is her backstory? Butters came in in November 2023. She came after she was a hunting
03:02dog so that's the reason that she came into the centre. We don't really know much about her
03:06background we just know that she was a hunting dog so she is very very high energy. She has got a very
03:12high prey drive so we do have to work with her to bring your energy levels down because sometimes
03:16you can get a little bit too overexcited and obviously we're working with her muzzle training
03:20as well because she is going to have to be muzzled when she's out and about just in case.
03:23Can you tell me about Butters personality? She's a very very bubbly dog, she loves life, she loves
03:30people, she loves other dogs, she loves attention and she loves a fuss. She'll just roll over at
03:37any chance that she's given if somebody gives her a fuss. She's amazing with other dogs and she
03:42thrives in the company and she is really really playful but she is also really really high energy
03:48but she does enjoy her downtime with her little best friend Dennis as well. What would be the
03:53perfect home for Butters? Butters perfect home would be somebody who enjoys going on lots of
03:58adventures, lots of walking, she would be more than happy to live with another dog,
04:03no young children just because of how excited and bouncy she can be but yeah a home that
04:10wants to go on lots of adventures and lots of nice long walks would be perfect for her.
04:14What is the best thing about Butters? What is the best thing about Butters? Everything is amazing
04:20about Butters, she just loves life so much, she just wants to get stuck into everything
04:26and she loves going on her walks, that's like what she literally lives for. A lot of people are put
04:31off by lurches thinking they're not necessarily cuddly or they don't have the same sort of
04:36personality that a small fluffy dog would but giving the lurches a chance is really important,
04:42they can just be as affectionate as any other dog and more often than not they are more affectionate
04:48because they just love being with people so much and in Butters case she loves people more than
04:54anything else in the world. When did Scooby come into the brand and what is his story? Scooby came
05:02in in July 2023, he came in after his owner could no longer look after him, he was with us for
05:12approximately four weeks and he got very very stressed in kennels to the point where he did
05:16break his tail and he did have an arterial bleed so it did have to be amputated. He then came to
05:24me as a foster dog so his tail could heal because it wasn't healing in kennels because he was still
05:28throwing himself around and I've had him since August 2023. What is Scooby like, what's his
05:36personality like? Scooby's a very very high energy lurcher, he is a little bit anxious but his
05:42anxiety comes across as this hyper excitability but he is absolutely lovely, he is so affectionate,
05:49he's so ready to sort of go out into the world and just explore. He does still require a little
05:57bit of training so somebody who's willing to give that training to him would be great
06:02but he's so affectionate and he just loves life. What is your favourite thing about Scooby?
06:09How cuddly he is so when we're at home after he's been out for his walks he really settles down
06:14and he'll come and have a little snuggle next to me on the sofa. What would be the perfect home
06:20for Scooby? Scooby's perfect home would be adult only just because of how excited and bouncy he can
06:27be. Somebody who's going to be very patient with him because he still does have quite a few things
06:31to learn but he is very willing to learn and he does enjoy his training sessions.
06:39He would do best in a home that does already have another dog because he needs to sort of learn the
06:44ropes a little bit, somebody to give him the confidence and he can be a little bit reactive,
06:52excited reactive when he does see another dog out and about but if he's got a little
06:55friend with him it's reduced massively.
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