A Manchester based Dogs Trust centre has taken 100,000 calls from dog-lovers across the country within its first six months of opening.
The team receive approximately 1,000 calls each day and over 21,600 people have called so far looking to give a homeless dog a ‘furry-tail ending’.
Neil Carrick, general manager, believes it is different from other call centres, particularly due to the ‘level of emotion’ and passion involved.
He said: “The level of emotional involvement is massive and I have the utmost respect for the team being able to deal with the calls day in, day out.
“There have been times when tears have flowed but this shows just how much every member of the team cares about what they do and for the welfare of the dogs they are discussing.”
Previously all calls were funnelled directly through each regional centre, meaning that a receptionist would be inundated with calls leaving no one there to help with people coming through the door.
The opening of the national call centre on September 29 took the weight off these receptionists, while also allowing more time to be spent on individual calls.
Unfortunately, the call centre has also received more than 18,000 calls from people about handing their canine over to the charity, which for many is a last resort.
Not all calls to the centre concern dogs with many people calling with questions and requests to re-home other animals.
Julia Youd, regional press officer, said: “More unusual enquiries have included someone looking for advice about how to stop their parrot pulling its feathers out.
“Someone called wanting to hand over a donkey, another animal-lover wanted help to re-home a lizard and we’ve had several requests to re-home cats”
Neil said: “The best calls are when someone picks up the phone to tell us that they have given one of our dogs their forever home.
“Also when people call to give us updates about dogs they have re-homed and who have settled into family life. As dog lovers, what more could you ask for in a working day?”
If you would like to rehome a dog from Dogs Trust, click here.
Image courtesy of Wendy Lovatt, with thanks.
