There are currently around 65 dogs at the Manchester and Cheshire Dogs’ Home who are looking for a family to stay with. Some of these pups have been at the home for more than six months.
From little terriers to bouncing bigger dogs, the dogs' home in Harpurhey takes in strays and unwanted pooches and rehomes them with the best families for that pet. There’s a real mix of breeds available for rehoming and to find out more about them, you can check out their profiles on the Manchester and Cheshire Dogs’ Home website.
To adopt a dog, you can no longer pop down to the shelter and have a look. Instead, you need to fill in an application form online, before you can book an appointment to meet your potential pup.
Read more: The 62 dogs, cats and small pets looking for forever homes in Manchester this March
Neil Outram, the kennel manager at the Manchester and Cheshire Dogs’ Home explained: “Before Covid it was a different ballgame altogether, yes you could come here, yes you could take a dog but things have changed. When I first started here, for every 10 strays that got brought in as strays I could probably guarantee that eight of them would still be in our care for rehoming.
“Now, it just seems to be on the other scale, if I have 10 dogs coming in, eight of them are getting rehomed. It’s a win-win really to be fair.
“At this moment in time we’ve got aroundabout 65 dogs in our care. 12 years ago we had easy 200 plus.
“We’re not as busy as we used to be. The whole dynamic has changed from 12 years ago. You came here 12 years ago and they’d be kennels of threes or fours, and now they’re all single kennels.
“If you see two or three together, it’s because they’ve come in together or they’re puppies or we’ve done it for socialisation purposes. The dogs are out, they get socialised every day with different dogs so it’s a win-win really.”
These are some of the kennel’s longest residents who are still looking for a home.
Alf, five year-old shar pei
Alf is a five year-old boy who was brought into the dogs’ home as a stray. It took Alf a bit of time to get accustomed to the home as he was so scared. However, he is now a playful and once he trusts you, he is very loving.
Neil explained that he doesn’t always behave like a typical shar pei, who can often be difficult to read. Instead, Alf can be a chatty dog and a bit aloof at times.
Alf would be best suited to someone who has experience with the breed and has had dogs before, he would be better with children aged 16 or older.
Diesel, two year-old husky cross
Diesel was brought to the Manchester and Cheshire Dogs’ Home from another home and has now been at the home for more than six months and in that time has had no interest.
Neil said: “He’s had no interest and we don’t understand why because he’s such a loveable dog, and yeah he’s high energy but you’re only seeing him in the kennel environment. He’s been with us roundabout six months, just over now, so he’s been here too long. Not that we don’t love him, it’s because he should be in a home.
“A lot of our dogs need basic training, put some basic training to him in a home environment and I think he’ll be a cracking dog. I really, really do.”
It is unknown what Diesel is crossed with, but what is known is how bouncy and energetic he has become after being socialised in the home. He can be a little nervous at first and it has been advised that a few visits to the dogs’ home would be necessary before adoption.
His favourite time is out on walks, but his future owner should be mindful of the fact that he is very strong on the lead. He loves to play with other dogs but can be a little overbearing at times and is not to be housed with cats.
Again, he is best suited to a home who have had dogs before and with young people over the age of 16.
Gino, one year-old lurcher cross
Gino came to the home as a stray. He is an energetic boy, described as having ‘tonnes of character’ but can be nervous around new people, for this reason he would need two or three visits before he can be adopted to build a relationship.
Neil said: “He needs basic training and when he first arrived at the Manchester and Cheshire Dogs’ home he was a little nippy but since calming down and growing up this has stopped."
Gino has been at the home for around eight months, so is one of the longest residents. While he has had a lot of interest, the perfect home for Gino is yet to be found. As he is a lurcher, he cannot be rehomed with cats due to his prey drive.
He is friendly towards most other dogs, but can get a little barky towards some. For this reason, the home thinks it is best if he was rehomed as the only dog in the family.
Neil explained: “I would never ever put a lurcher or any other breed of working dog with a cat and the reason being is they have a high predatory drive. If that cat runs, their instinct is to chase.”
He added: “He’s got....beautiful eyes, he really has.” Gino would benefit from a home where the owners have had previous lurcher, or similar breed, experience and would be best suited to a home with ages 14 plus.
Archie , eight year-old Jack Russell terrier
Archie was a stray who managed to get rehomed, but was sadly brought back to the dogs’ home after displaying some behavioural issues that were not present in the kennel environment. Since returning to the kennels, Archie has not shown any signs of the behavioural issues he had while living in a house.
Neil said “We’re looking for someone who has had terriers, someone who understands the breed as well. A lot of his issues and problems were that he was trying to be dominant over the owners.
“He’s a lovely dog, he walks lovely along the lead, he’s an old man.”
He is a cheeky boy, and despite his age is still full of energy and is very affectionate. He needs a family who will be confident in telling him ‘no’ and putting boundaries in place.
Archie would be happiest in a home where his owners were able to train him properly and have had experience with dogs with behavioural problems. These issues can be discussed in further detail with the Manchester and Cheshire Dogs’ home.
Neil also offered some warnings and advice about looking after your dog and making sure your ownership details are up to date so if your dog gets out, he gets home again.
He said: “We get needed a lot for stray dogs, obviously in the warmer months you’ve got to think schools are on half term, the inevitability does happen. Kids of off school, kids leave gates open, dog ends up on street, a dog on a street is classified as a stray.
“If it gets picked up, it will end up here, we will endeavour to do our best to reunite that dog with its owner. The new microchip law came in about six years ago, but sadly with that microchipping law people just don’t keep up to date with their details.
“They move address, change telephone numbers, don’t inform the correct people or they potentially move the dog on, whether that be they’ve sold the dog on or rehomed the dog to somebody else and not changed the details over. At that point when that dogs comes into us as a stray, we need proof of ownership.
“We can’t just give a dog back because you’ve said it’s your dog. Sadly in this day and age, especially when you’ve got social media, photographs are not proof of ownership.
“I can go on anyone’s social media page and I can copy and paste any photograph and say it’s my dog. We’ve got to be so so careful because effectively we don’t want to give the dog back to someone it doesn’t belong to.
“We’ve had it many a time when we’ve rung a potential chipped owner and that chipped owner has basically told us that they’ve rehomed the dog. Then they’ll ring back and say they want to claim the dog because they own the dog because the dog is in their name.
“So then the dog being chipped to you is not proof of ownership, I know it sounds awful but it’s not proof of ownership.
“Proof of ownership would be pet insurance, because you're not going to pay pet insurance for a dog you don’t own. Recent vet bill or invoice, that is proof of ownership as far as I am concerned.
“If someone can provide me a copy of those details, I will keep a copy on record because it covers me too.
“We also have, on the other side of things, people take their dogs to the vets so they’re doing the responsible thing, they have the dog microchipped so they think everything is registered. But if it’s not registered, then they’ve got to prove ownership to me.”
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