Member Article

Bark Inn leads the way with new milestone for rehoming dogs

A leading Black Country dog charity is celebrating a record year after it announced it has rehomed 125 greyhounds during 2017.

Aldridge-based Bark Inn Kennels has seen a major surge in the number of people looking to give rescue dogs a new home, with bosses keen to build on this success by breaking the 150 mark over the next twelve months.

Backed by local firm C&D Consultancy, the organisation takes in retired greyhounds and lurchers, with each space costing them £800 per year for accommodation, vet bills and food.

Michelle Owen, Founder, was delighted with the way things have gone. “In 2016 we managed to rehome 92 dogs and we thought that was an amazing achievement. We had reached that figure by October and have gone on to add another 30 plus.

“There definitely seems a move from buying puppies to instead looking at rehoming dogs and I’m sure our move to our current site in Aldridge has also made us more visible.”

She continued: “Finally, we have really benefited from the backing of John Woodward at C&D Consultancy. Not only has he rehomed two greyhounds for us, but has also put on numerous fundraising events to raise money and even donated a van to help with transporting our dogs around.”

Bark Inn Kennels was established in 2009 by Michelle and has grown into one of the largest greyhound rehoming centres in the West Midlands.

The management team is supported by 10 volunteers, who help with dog walking and looking after the kennels.

It also offers overnight boarding, which helps generate important funds for the rehoming service.

Michelle continued: “We made the announcement during our Kennel Walk on New Year’s Day, which attracted more than 100 people and their dogs. It was a great way to start 2018 and we hope that all the interest in what we do will see more beautiful animals given loving homes in the future.”

C&D’s John Woodward added his support: “You can’t help but be impressed with what they achieve at Bark Inn Kennels, especially with the small team involved. They even slept in the kennels with the dogs during the recent cold spell to make sure they were ok!

“Michelle is always looking for more volunteers and other businesses to support them. They’re rehomed more than 600 dogs so far and it won’t be long until they hit the magical 1000 mark.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .