Worcestershire's worsening situation for stray staffies

Worcestershire’s Dog Warden team has called on dog owners to stop abandoning Staffordshire bull terriers as the number of stray ‘staffies’ being picked up across the county reaches a critical point.

Worcestershire Regulatory Services is picking up staffies and related cross breeds as strays every week in the areas of Wychavon, Worcester City, Redditch, Bromsgrove, Wyre Forest and Malvern in numbers that exceed the capacity of local rescue centres.

Rehoming dog warden for Worcestershire Regulatory Services Pip Singleton said: “These beautiful dogs are being abandoned in large numbers but are not being claimed. The pressure that is being put on local rescue centres to take them in is becoming overwhelming.

“In the last two months RSPCA Worcester, Dogs Trust Evesham and Forest Dog Rescue in Kidderminster have helped take in so many, but there is no let up and the staffies keep coming in. The situation is dire.

“The limited space in animal rescue centres is at a premium and there are short timescales to work with before there is no choice other than to destroy these poor animals. Another six staffies have recently been picked up.

“Please don’t dump your dog, and please do not breed from it. There are just too many flooding the market.”

If you would consider offering a staffie a permanent home please contact Pip Singleton on 01527 881395 for more information on how you could help a dog.