Valentine’s Day: I visited Birmingham Dogs Home to see how you can share the love by adopting a pooch

Birmingham Dogs Home is chock-a-block.

Over 160 pooches have come into the charity since Christmas - meaning both their centres in Birmingham and Wolverhampton are full.

There has been a couple of awesome love stories to tell this Valentine’s Day with puppy Iris, a young ten month old Jack Russell, and pappy Max, a ten year old Springer Spaniel who has been at the centre for some time, both finding new homes.

But there are lots of other dogs who are still looking for a family to love. And as Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate love - and Britain is a nation of dog lovers with around a third of households having a furry family member amongst them - I went along to Birmingham Dogs Home to meet some patient pooches who are still waiting to find their forever home.

It’s nearly time for Birmingham to host Crufts at the NEC too - we really are a world centre for celebrating everything great about dogs.

“It’s fantastic to see Iris and Max find their forever homes, especially in these financially challenging times which have seen our numbers swell considerably,” explains Fi Harrison, head of fundraising, Birmingham Dog’s Home.

“We are planning some more networking events this year and we are also launching our BDH Business Patrons programme with lots of great opportunities for local businesses like Metro Bank to help and support us.”

“Birmingham Dog’s Home makes a huge difference in so many dogs’ lives and we are always looking at how our colleagues can support their fantastic work,” adds Merry Hill Metro Bank Local Director, Lee Currier.

Things you might not know about Birmingam Dogs Home

Birmingham Dogs Home  has been at the forefront of animal welfare for the Midlands for over 130 years and is one of the region’s oldest and best loved animal welfare charities.

The charity operates two centres in Birmingham and Wolverhampton. Birmingham can house 150 dogs, Wolverhampton 100 in comfortable kennel blocks with adjacent facilities, such as its own vets’ clinic, puppy unit and isolation block.

Metro Bank which famously champions dogs and welcomes them in store, sponsors one of the kennels. Birmingham Dogs Home only survives through the generosity and support of the general public and with help from volunteers in the local community.

Metro Bank’s Merry Hill store is located at 50 Two Woods Lane, Brierley Hill DY5 1TA. The store is open Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 6pm, Sundays 11am to 5pm.

Countdown to Crufts

It’s the world’s greatest dogs show and each year Birmingham hosts it at the NEC. The countdown is on as the annual extravaganza is taking place from March 9 to 12.

More than 18,000 dogs attend from across the world attend and take part in a whole range of competitions, organised by The Kennel Club.

The main competition is for the Best in Show award, which is hotly contested by dogs and their owners. The show is named after its founder, Charles Cruft who first held it in London and was a general manager for a dog biscuit manufacturer.

But Crufts is not an open competition; dogs must have qualified throughout the previous year. This year Crufts is celebrating its 150th anniversary - and it’s the first time the show wil be back in its entirety since the pandemic.