Dogs Trust, Salisbury

I found Dogs Trust to be one of the most helpful rehoming centres.

I wholeheartedly recommend them.

We had to fill out a form (done online) first, then we went to the centre, where the form was called up on a computer.

A member of staff walked us round the dogs in the kennels and if told us if there was a reason why this hound was good or bad for us.

e.g Barney was a kind old mongrel, but had been hurt and had a front paw that had been broken and set badly. One of our desirable features was for a dog that would enjoy long walks and runs with us on horseback, so this dog was not for us.

We selected scruffy and talk him for a test drive around the local woods.

The Dogs Trust asked that we take him for another walk or two before we took him home, which we did.

Dogs Trust rightly reserve the right to inspect the security and suitability of your home to keep your dog. In our case we had to supply photographs of garden, fences etc.

After a week we were able to take "Scruffy" home. He came fitted with a full years vaccinations , a microchip, and a 6 month free trial of "keepsafe" an organisation that provides a freephone number for returning of found pets.

Before you go home you will have an hours "training" on what your dog eats, known medical history etc. We receieved a Dogs Trust Collar and Lead, a weeks supply of food in a goody bag too.

The adoption fee (2007) was £75.

In all honesty this is a small price to pay for your companion for the next 15 years, and to support the sterling work of this organisation which will never euthenase a healthy dog.

Dogs trust also run a peer to peer network called DoggySnaps where owners can swap pictures of their dogs etc. Sort of a "MySnout" or "tailbook" for dogs' owners