Dogs Trust delivers Christmas gifts to people experiencing homelessness across the UK

The Christmas elves at Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, are busy getting ready to spread Christmas cheer across England, Wales and Scotland by delivering gifts to the canine companions of people experiencing homelessness.  

Every Christmas, through its Together Through Homelessness scheme, Dogs Trust brings festive cheer to the dogs of people experiencing homelessness by delivering canine hampers of collars, leads, coats, festive treats and toys to dogs and their owners. Dogs Trust has been running the unique service for over 30 years and as well as Christmas gifts, provides free veterinary treatment to dogs whose owners are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness.  

This year, Together Through Homelessness will deliver almost 2,000 Christmas parcels to dogs and their owners at over 215 homelessness services across the UK.  

An owner and his happy dog with the festive items

Megan Evans, Together Through Homelessness Team Leader at Dogs Trust, explains: 

“Everyone knows that the bond between a dog and its owner is a strong one but for people experiencing homelessness, the bond is often unbreakable. Christmas can be an especially difficult and lonely time for people in housing crisis, but the company of a canine friend can often help to ease some of this loneliness.” 

“However, thanks to the generosity of Dogs Trust supporters, this year we’ll spread a little bit of Christmas cheer and help almost 2,000 dogs celebrate Christmas with their best friends. Not only that, but we will be able to continue to support them into the New Year and beyond so that more dogs can stay with their owners, regardless of their housing situation”. 

You can find more about the work of Together Through Homelessness supporting dog owners experiencing or at risk of homelessness throughout the year here.