Dog-friendly Brighton and Hove in county of pet lovers

Jodie Kidd celebrates Brighton's dog-loving status Buy this photo » Jodie Kidd celebrates Brighton's dog-loving status

Animal shelter managers have praised our Give a Pet a Home campaign after scores of calls from our kind-hearted readers.

The response comes on the day that Brighton and Hove has been named the UK’s most dog friendly city.

Stacy McSpirit, who runs the Paws Animal Sanctuary in Findon, said her phone hadn’t stopped ringing since Monday’s launch.

Yesterday we revealed that she had found a new home for Jasper the donkey along with one of her adorable cats.

Today we can announce that Babe the pig, two more kittens and veteran tortoises Archie and Dizzy could be off to new homes.

She said: “The response has been fantastic. The phone hasn’t stopped ringing.

“Providing the new homes are suitable, Archie, Dizzy and Babe could be with a new loving family very soon.

“It’s brilliant.”

But it’s not just the Paws sanctuary that is already feeling the positive effects of the campaign.

Keith Simpson-Wells, who runs the reptile centre at Patcham RSPCA , added: “We’re already getting calls and I’ve got a few people coming in to look at the snakes.

“It’s been a really positive start but the message needs to stay out there.”

Keren O’Mahony, who works as a fundraiser for Sussex Pet Rescue, added that newspaper campaigns should not be underestimated.

She said: “We need campaigns like this. It has been a really good start and we cannot thank you enough.”

Model and dog-lover Jodie Kidd was in Brighton and Hove yesterday (September 12) to name the city the most dog friendly place in Britain.

Cesar’s dog food ran a survey to find where owners’ favourite places to visit with their pooches.

After cutting down hundreds of entries to a select few, a panel of judges, along with the 33-year-old model, named the city as top dog.

Ms O’Mahony, added: “From the responses we have had you can tell that there are kind-hearted people out there who want to help, but the problem is never ending.

“Owners need to get their pets neutered at the earliest opportunity. That’s the main problem.”

As part of our Give a Pet a Home campaign we will feature rescue shelters and their pets every day.

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Comments(19)

BiggerH says...
3:36pm Thu 13 Sep 12

dogs are like their owners - smelly and stupid

cats is where's it's at!!

Jimmy Stewart's Imaginary Rabbit says...
4:35pm Thu 13 Sep 12

BiggerH wrote:
dogs are like their owners - smelly and stupid

cats is where's it's at!!
A dog lover/owner replies: Cats are like their owners - spiteful and unfriendly!

Actually we've got two cats as well as three dogs, so I'm both smelly AND spiteful!

banargustrolls says...
9:06pm Thu 13 Sep 12

I can't stand dogs or their owners and there's WAY too much poo around. Cats rule.

rayellerton says...
9:17pm Thu 13 Sep 12

Dog owners are generally responsible and clean up after them, however cat owners like their pets are selfish and allow them to pollute other peoples gardens and just shrug there shoulders and say they cant do anything about it...about time the law was changed to make them take responsibility....i for one am fed up with my garden stinking of other peoples cats...

george smith says...
10:00pm Thu 13 Sep 12

Is that why they are fencing off vast parts of Wild Park off and putting sheep all over the place

fredflintstone1 says...
1:28am Fri 14 Sep 12

george smith wrote:
Is that why they are fencing off vast parts of Wild Park off and putting sheep all over the place
The council is now employing 700 sheep at a cost of £2 each per week which are being moved around popular areas such as Stanmer Park, Wild Park etc..This scheme has expanded significantly under the Greens.

This means that typically, these animals are depositing 350kg of droppings each and every day on land around the city, often in popular spots where children otherwise often play.

Parents will be blissfully unaware that all this faecal contamination of the ground will have taken place, once the sheep and fencing have gone.

Unfortunately, the nasty bugs that the sheep may have left behind - E.coli, Salmonella, Cryptosporidia, Campylobacter etc. - will be still there though, waiting to infect the unknowing and the unwary.

Sheep are for farms, parks are for people. Fencing off all these areas for sheep is also making it harder for dog-owners to exercise their pets too.

KarenT says...
1:50am Fri 14 Sep 12

I have the solution... Anyone male, under 30 with a subnormal IQ, cannot own a Staffy. Problem solved. God I hate chavs.

KarenT says...
1:53am Fri 14 Sep 12

Oops, wrong thread - will go and post this on the thread about homeless staffies...

Juleyanne says...
7:23am Fri 14 Sep 12

Well done Argus for this positive forward thinking campaign and to all those who will continue to come forward and offer a place in their homes for the growing number of abandoned pets. If we in Sussex can make a difference other counties will follow, which nationwide
will make a huge positive difference to UK pet welfare.

george smith says...
7:54am Fri 14 Sep 12

So the ecofascists pay £1400 a week for the hire of sheep and meanwhile the most vulnerable in the city have to pay more than where else in the country for the most expensive home help. Says it all really about priorities

Archie Bun says...
8:36am Fri 14 Sep 12

County of pet lovers? Not if the number of stories about animals being dumped at rehoming centres every week. But never mind as the Argus will print anything that slightly gives praise to the area. Pat yourselves on the back, while rehoming centres are chock a block.

Somethingsarejustwrong says...
9:30am Fri 14 Sep 12

If its all going so well, I am keen to offload a few of the family pets and wonder what the process is?

F in L says...
10:55am Fri 14 Sep 12

fredflintstone1 wrote:
george smith wrote:
Is that why they are fencing off vast parts of Wild Park off and putting sheep all over the place
The council is now employing 700 sheep at a cost of £2 each per week which are being moved around popular areas such as Stanmer Park, Wild Park etc..This scheme has expanded significantly under the Greens.

This means that typically, these animals are depositing 350kg of droppings each and every day on land around the city, often in popular spots where children otherwise often play.

Parents will be blissfully unaware that all this faecal contamination of the ground will have taken place, once the sheep and fencing have gone.

Unfortunately, the nasty bugs that the sheep may have left behind - E.coli, Salmonella, Cryptosporidia, Campylobacter etc. - will be still there though, waiting to infect the unknowing and the unwary.

Sheep are for farms, parks are for people. Fencing off all these areas for sheep is also making it harder for dog-owners to exercise their pets too.
Lets not forget Ticks and of course the Sheep add a disproportionate amount of Methane so adding to the greenhouse effect, but taste delish!

Mannzig says...
6:24pm Fri 14 Sep 12

If Brighton/Hove is so dog friendly, why is it so difficult to find a place to rent when you have a dog? I would happily pay a pet deposit if I found a nice flat. I'm sure more animals could find happy homes if it was easier to rent when you have one.

Juleyanne says...
7:07am Sat 15 Sep 12

Pet Friendly Properties are leading the way see thier website. I urge more letting agencies to come on board with new tenancies available which protect the interests of landlords, letting agents, tenants and their much loved pets.

Juleyanne says...
7:26am Sat 15 Sep 12

I found the site petfriendlypropertie
s.org.uk helpful.

Mel@cityclean says...
1:56pm Sat 15 Sep 12

Agree with Archie Bun comment!! So many dumped dogs and cats in Brighton and Hove!! People move, and leave there poor animals, loads of stray animals on the streets in BAH. A cat charity I help have just taken in over 60 unwanted cats from Brighton. You read more bad stories than good of the poor animals in need in BAH. There might be lots of animal lovers, but there are many silly fools, who can not care for them propley!!!

Juleyanne says...
11:13pm Sat 15 Sep 12

You used to get the odd stray, what the hell is happening to our pets in Sussex!
I still stand firmly that the way forward is
promotion of responsible dog ownership and pet ownership in general. To promote responsible pet ownership by way of making more tenancies available to good owners through providing special pet tenancies with additional deposits and professional cleans when they leave, proof of regular veterinary check ups; this is so definitely the way forward.
Irresponsible pet owners would soon realise that if they are serious and committed to pet ownership they would have to commit to terms and conditions.
This rather than exclusion is absolutely defininitely the way forward. If all pets were compulsorily microchipped (not just puppies) irresponsible owners could be traced and held to account for dumping pets. A ban on the advertising of pets for sale in local advertisers unless heavily regulated would weed out the puppy farms too. If someone wants a dog or cat especially in our present climate they should approach all available animal shelters and if they insist on a specific breed, then they should have no other option but to go to a regulated breeder instead of some dodgy agent for a puppy farm or ad in the local advertiser. The appalling suffering of ex breeding **** needs to be witnessed. I have seen ex breeding **** it is really shocking. If those who insist on a specific breed could actually see the **** who have been kept in captivity, bred relentlessly with numerous serious health problems and lameness it would surely break their hearts if they are an animal lover.
Many **** are unsocialised, terrified, kept in terrible caged conditions, bred relentlessly, have never seen beyond the cage and suffer appallingly. Many can barely walk as their pads are soft and cracked from being caged. This is just some of the reality of buying your dog from a puppy farm agent posing as a local breeder or apparently nice couple. If you want a dog please rescue not buy. Animal shelters have some fabulous dogs and cats just waiting for your call and visit who desperately need a home. Please don't fuel the breeders that have no regard for anything but profit. Rescue, don't buy.

Somethingsarejustwrong says...
10:52am Sun 16 Sep 12

We need to place our energy into addressing the root-cause of all these unwanted animals, rather than doing what we tolerant Brits are well practiced in, i.e. mopping up the mess that ensues from being over tolerant to dysfunctional minority groups.

Therefore if steps are put in place that stop dogs becoming homeless the problem goes away.

Say the average lifetime of a dog is 20 years (similar to a mortgage on property purchase) and the annual upkeep costs are £500 (without insurance - £750 with) then we have a lifetime cost of £10 - £15K.

How can it be deemed responsible for anyone without supporting unencumbered income to take on such a commitment in the first instance.

My main point is that people already receiving state subsidy should not be permitted to increase their financial exposure, given the obvious consequences of failure to afford ongoing upkeep.

My secondary point is that as many of the people who have these so called status dogs are clearly the cause of antisocial issues impacting others, by putting some basic commonsense principles in place these issues and future homelessness of dogs could be avoided.

The ideal position will be no animal shelters and all pets happily place with caring owners, but to achieve this we really have to break the current cycle, rather than sustaining it as Juleyanne is advocating.

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