THE UK’s largest dog welfare organisation is celebrating its 125th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of its second and longest surviving rehoming centre established in the country at Evesham.

Dogs Trust was founded in 1891 by socialite Lady Gertrude Stock and a small group of fellow dog lovers. Formerly known as the National Canine Defence League (NCDL), it was dedicated solely to helping “protect dogs from torture and ill usage of every kind”.

Since its small beginnings, the charity has been instrumental in changing the quality of life for dogs of all shapes and sizes and from all walks of life.

From its early years campaigning against the widespread use of dogs for vivisection and the persecution of stray dogs following rabies scares, to opening shelters for stray dogs and providing veterinary care for poorer dog owners, Dogs Trust has long championed the cause of the nation’s four-legged friends. This is something it continues to do to this day.

Today, the charity runs campaigns to educate people on responsible dog ownership, how to keep children safe around dogs and the importance of neutering and microchipping.

It also works internationally to improve the lives of dogs abroad and its outreach work in the UK assists dogs whose owners who are homeless, fleeing domestic violence or struggling to find rented accommodation with their pet.

The Evesham rehoming centre was opened in 1966 and was the second one in the country. In 2014 the trust submitted plans to build a brand new hi tech rehoming centre on the same site at Pitchers Hill. The facility will be opened this autumn and will accommodate a greater number of dogs and give them a more homely environment while they await a new permanent home.

To help celebrate 125 years of saving dogs lives, the staff and dogs at Dogs Trust Evesham have been getting creative with a fun, themed picture featuring some of the four legged friends currently awaiting loving new homes.

Dogs Trust Evesham Rehoming Centre manager Chris Slight said: “It’s wonderful to look back over the years and see how far Dogs Trust has come in making vital improvements in dog welfare.

“I’m sure Lady Gertrude Stock couldn’t have imagined that the initial meeting of a handful of dog lovers would grow to become the largest dog welfare charity in the UK with a slogan famous worldwide.”

“The charity now has as network of 20 rehoming centres in the UK and one in Ireland, where the most state-of-the art kennels in the world are built with sustainability in mind and offer a unique and comfortable space for dogs as they await their forever homes.

“While the charity has grown and adapted with the changing times, its core values remain – ensuring all dogs can live a happy life, free from the threat of unnecessary destruction.”

He added: “Helping stray and abandoned dogs has always been at the forefront of Dogs Trust’s aims and in this, our 125th year, we were delighted to welcome the introduction of compulsory microchipping in England, Scotland and Wales.

“This essential element of responsible dog ownership is the most effective permanent way of ensuring a lost dog is reunited with its owner so we hope to see a decline in the stray dog population in years to come.”

Dogs Trust factfile

• Dogs Trust Evesham opened its doors in 1966 and has since helped 30,000 dogs find loving new homes

• The rehoming centre in South Worcestershire now has 38 staff members and 360 volunteers who support its day-to-day running

• In 1899 there was widespread campaign against vivisection began, followed by numerous petitions. By 1910 there were fewer dogs being used in experiments due to persistent NCDL campaigning

• In 1912 Dog license clubs set up to help poorer people save money on their dog licences

• In 1926 the NCDL open pioneering Bethnal Green clinic to provide expert treatment to dogs of the poor. Within six weeks they were dealing with over 50 dogs a day

• In 1928 the Dogs (Amendment) Act made it an offence to find a stray and not endeavour to trace the owner or deliver it to the police

• In 1940 dogs were forbidden entry into Air Raid Shelters. The NCDL and RSPCA jointly built a shelter for dogs in Kensington Gardens

• The NCDL started a home-finding service for ex racing greyhounds in 1949 and placed over 600 of these dogs with caring new owners

• The charity’s famous slogan A Dog Is For Life, Not Just For Christmas was coined in 1978

• In 1987 the dog license fee was abolished while the NCDL repeated its misgivings that abolition would ‘give unscrupulous breeders and dealers an almost free reign to churn out puppies as from a sausage factory’. It pushed for a license fee of £5

• In 2003 the NCDL was rebranded as the Dogs Trust

• The charity’s newest rehoming centre opened in Denton, Manchester, in 2014

• In April 2016 microchipping became compulsory after the Dogs Trust campaigned for this essential piece of legislation