The Dogs Trust Rehoming Centre has seen a huge increase in the number of people wanting to adopt a dog this year.
And they say that during lockdown it has been their leggy dogs which have been really turning heads.
Sighthounds - the group of long-legged dogs which includes greyhounds, whippets, salukis and lurchers - are often overlooked at rehoming centres. So, at the beginning of the year, the staff at Dogs Trust West Calder started a campaign to show people what loving pets they could be in the right home.
All sighthounds coming into the centre are given a special name which highlights their best feature – their legs.
From seven-year-old lurcher Lolly Longlegs to Lemmy Longlegs, the five-year-old greyhound, all the Longlegs dogs are given profile pictures to show off their lovely long pins too.
A Longlegs Luncheon for the public to meet and greet the dogs was planned for March, but sadly had to be cancelled due to the pandemic.
Despite the setback, the campaign was a huge success and Dogs Trust West Calder has seen their lovely leggy dogs become very popular, with the number of sighthounds rehomed in 2020 almost double their 2019 figures already.
Susan Tonner, Rehoming Centre Manager at West Calder said: “We are delighted we have caught the public’s attention of these wonderful dogs who are so often overlooked.
“We’ve been actively promoting our long-legged furry friends at the centre, on our website and on social media and its really paying off – in the first three months of 2019, we had rehomed 10 sighthounds, but in 2020 we rehomed 24 sighthounds in the same period.
“When the first lockdown started in March, demand for our dogs went up significantly, and between April and September, another 26 sighthounds found new families. That’s 50 for the year so far, compared to 30 in 2019.
“I think the cute names and pictures and all the extra promotion has helped get these loveable dogs noticed, and we hope it continues as we have lots of sighthounds still looking for their forever homes.”
Sighthounds currently at the rehoming centre include loveable Linton Longlegs, a three-year-old greyhound who loves meeting new people. He walks beautifully on his lead and is always by your side – but his favourite place has to be his warm cosy bed.
Linton is looking for new owners who are home for most of the day and have a garden he can potter around. He can live with children aged 10 years or older and would like his new family all to himself, with no other pets.
Lonny Longlegs is a three-year-old ex-racing greyhound and a super friendly chap. He loves to chase soft toys and have a cuddle at the end of a busy day. He is sociable with other dogs of his size but would prefer to be the only pet in the home. Lonny can also live with children aged 10 or older.
Each of the long-legged dogs looking for love at West Calder have their own unique personalities - some are lively, some are lazy, but they are all most certainly lovable.
For more information, please contact the West Calder Rehoming Centre on 01506 873459 or visit www.dogstrust.org.uk/our-centres/west-calder.
You can also follow Dogs Trust West Calder on Twitter @DT_WestCalder for regular updates on centre events as well as the dogs available for rehoming.
