Our impact

Together, we have made huge strides forward for dogs. Explore the impact of the work we did last year.

Maple the trailhound enjoys exercise at Dogs Trust Harefield

We want to see all dogs living full, safe and happy lives. And thanks to you, we can be there to offer a helping hand when pups and their owners need us most.

Together, we can work towards a better future for dogs everywhere. Here’s what you helped us achieve in 2023.

2023 at a glance...

We cared for 13,374 dogs through our 22 centres across the UK and Ireland.
10,588 dogs were rehomed, including over 400 Underdogs who had been with us for more than six months.
With the help of our committed foster carers, we fostered 3,650 dogs through our Home From Home and Freedom programmes.
We ran 12,806 Dog School classes, helping dogs and their loving humans understand each other better.
We gave help and advice to 5,855 people through our free Behaviour Support Line.
We taught 481,209 children about dog safety through workshops and assemblies.

Cost of living support

Together with Fairshare and other charities, not to mention our wonderful corporate partners, we delivered nearly 1 million meals for dogs in Fairshare food banks.
100,000 people supported our Paws the VAT campaign, calling on the government to cut VAT on dog food and vet fees.
Our new Temporary Relief Fund helped keep desperate owners and their beloved pets together amid rising veterinary costs. We contributed more than £28,000 towards those costs, enabling 38 dogs to stay with their loving families.

Support for all dog owners

Over 500 owners attended free muzzle training webinars.
We had over 290,000 visits to our dedicated American Bully XL information page. This provided information and advice to support dog owners affected by the ban.
Together Through Homelessness – we worked with 413 homelessness services to provide support for dog owners across the UK. We funded 1,929 veterinary treatments, and were proud to mark the 10,000th dog to be supported with free vet care.
Freedom – our dedicated volunteers helped foster 258 dogs from households facing domestic abuse. This enabled 191 families to find freedom and 210 dogs to be safely reunited with their owners.

Preventing problems and improving welfare

Over 77,000 of you, our loyal supporters, signed up and took action by calling on the Government to tackle the issue of puppy smuggling.
We reached 1,635 students through 45 guest lectures and workshops at universities and colleges.
We gave 21 live training sessions to 267 Blue Light Service personnel.
140 people attended our first conference for dog professionals.

International impact

Programmes funded and supported by Dogs Trust Worldwide saw 114,292 dogs neutered and 161,767 dogs vaccinated against rabies. They also saw 289 vets trained, and 277,061 children educated on dog safety.
We merged with Worldwide Veterinary Service and Mission Rabies, marking an important milestone in the global fight against rabies.