Mayhew will be ending stray dog arrangement with London Borough of Brent as it aims to help even more dogs in need

We have today confirmed that we will soon move away from being a reception point for stray dogs found in the London Borough of Brent as we seek to be able to take on and rehome more dogs at risk of becoming stray or being abandoned by pet owners who are struggling to care for their dog and are currently on a long waiting list.  

Challenging times

Since 2015, we have been a service provider for Brent, responding to enquiries from members of the public who find a stray dog in the Borough by temporarily taking the dog into care and attempting to reunite them with their owner.  When this has not been possible, we then made every effort possible to rehome these dogs.  

Our priority has always been to provide the best possible care to each and every dog who needs our support. With just 15 kennel spaces and a surge in requests for help, we are facing difficult challenges in trying to meet demand. Moving away from taking in stray dogs means we can have more capacity to take in dogs at risk of becoming stray, in line with our focus on prevention.

Mayhew Chief Executive Sherine Wheeler explains, “We have not taken the decision to move away from taking in stray dogs, for the time being, lightly. Like many other animal welfare charities that offer rescue and rehoming services, we increasingly find we struggle with capacity as we are seeing a steep rise in the number of enquiries from pet owners feeling they need to relinquish their dog in these challenging times.”

“Councils have a duty of care and funding set aside for the welfare of stray dogs which means there is a safety net in place for animals who sadly end up in this situation. We are hopeful that our work will prevent even more dogs from having to rely on this safety net from the Council.”

Sherine adds, “We have reassured our colleagues at Brent that if they find themselves unable to meet the needs of a particular dog at any time in the future, to please always contact us and we will do everything we can to help during these difficult times.”

Members of the public who find stray dogs in Brent are being encouraged to contact Brent Council directly who will make arrangements with one of their other partner organisations.