This International Dog Day, all dogs deserve to be celebrated.

As an animal welfare charity, Mayhew is committed to helping dogs from all walks of life: at our Home and clinic, in the community, and internationally.

With your help, thousands of dogs can receive the support they need. So ultimately, they can live a life filled with hope and happiness.

Pet Refuge is a Mayhew initiative that provides temporary shelter and care for dogs and cats when their owners can’t. A service that delivers hope during what can be a very dark time for people, and their pets.

It could be that someone needs to be hospitalised, or go to rehab, or are temporarily between homes, and don’t have friends or family who can help. Pet Refuge allows them to get back on their feet, knowing their best friend is being well looked after.

So far this year, 19 animals have been able to receive support through Pet Refuge. Animals just like Rossi.

When his owner Paul needed life-saving cancer treatment, he needed to find temporary care for Rossi.

Having no-one else he could turn to, Paul was able to bring Rossi to Mayhew before being admitted to hospital. While in our care, Rossi was given his own kennel with a cosy bed and lots of blankets, daily walks, enrichment and lots of love from our dedicated and experienced Animal Carers.

Paul said: “If I hadn’t received the help from Pet Refuge, I wouldn’t have had anyone to take good care of my staffy, Rossi.

“Mayhew had literally saved me so I could continue carrying on giving Rossi the love and attention so he can relax and live a very happy life.

“Pet Refuge means everything to me as without it, my health issues would’ve literally killed me. They were a very lucky find that I so desperately needed.”

After a few weeks in our care, Rossi was reunited with Paul and is very happy to be back home with his best friend. You can see a heart-warming video of Rossi being reunited with Paul here.

Mayhew is proud to provide a lifeline for people and their pets when they need it most. Keeping them together at what is such a critical time in their shared life.

You can find out more about our Pet Refuge service here.