Since 2005 Hope Rescue has been saving the lives of stray, abandoned and unwanted dogs that, through no fault of their own, need a second chance. We commit to take all the stray dogs from six Local Authorities in South Wales - Merthyr Tydfil, Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Vale of Glamorgan and Rhondda Cynon Taf - irrespective of their age, breed or medical condition. We also help owners in crisis who need to surrender their dogs, giving them peace of mind that their dogs will be rehomed responsibly. 

After operating from commercial boarding kennels and foster homes for 12 years we finally purchased and moved into our own rescue centre in Llanharan, South Wales in April 2017. Our centre has 51 rescue kennels, two exercise paddocks, an indoor training centre, grooming room and 18 acres of private woodland.

We also have the stray dog kennelling contracts for Rhondda Cynon Taf, Bridgend and part of the Vale of Glamorgan (covering the wards of St Brides, Llandow/Ewenny, Llantwit Major, Cowbridge and St Athan).

We currently help around 800 dogs a year and as well as rehoming from our rescue centre, we also work with other rescues, including Blue Cross, Dogs Trust and Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, to take our dogs. This enables us to significantly increase the number of dogs we can help.

In 2019, we helped 907 dogs, of which 569 were strays. Last year we were busier than ever, helping over 380 dogs, of which 199 were surrenders. This is when an owner must give up their dog due to changes in lifestyle, personal and financial commitments. We saw a significant rise in surrenders due to the pandemic. Incredibly, since the first lockdown began at the end of March and despite all the challenges we faced, we still managed to rehome over 160 dogs. We had a massive 4571 adoption applications made compared to 1356 in 2019. We have more dogs in foster homes than ever before, which enables us to help more dogs and provide them with the best possible care.

The impact of the pandemic has been dramatic, with our rescue centre closed to the public and volunteers; our charity shop, still reeling from the effects of Storm Dennis, was closed and in need of a full refurbishment. With our fundraising events cancelled, the boarding kennels closed, and our shop out of action, we took a significant and immediate hit on our income, losing around £1,000 a day.

We rely on the passion and support from our local community to help Hope Rescue continue to save the lives of dogs in need across South Wales. We would really appreciate it if you could help us raise some awareness through your local community so we can continue our much-needed work.