Birkenhead dog pound petition calls for supportMay 5 2010 by Matt Hurst, Wirral News A PETITION dedicated to campaigning for improvements at Birkenhead’s dog pound has collected more than 150 signatures – and wants your support.
Karen Mills, who lives in Wallasey, was so shocked by what she saw when she returned to the pound for the first time in 30 years, she decided to do all she can to make life a little better for the animals living their lives inside.
Karen, 54 said: “You just walk in there and all you hear is dogs crying and jumping up, and then you look in the cages and see their sad, pathetic faces.
“You go down this alleyway and it’s freezing.
“It was a warm day but it was so cold in there, it’s just heart-breaking.”
Karen first visited the pound in the 1980s, after a dog she lost was kept there for safe keeping.
She says she hadn’t been back until three weeks ago, when a friend found herself in a similar position.
She said: “When I went to have a look, it hadn’t changed at all.
“It’s still so dark and damp and vile.”
Although the cages are kept clean and fresh water is supplied to all the dogs, Karen says the building needs a lot of work to provide a decent environment for the animals.
The grandmother said: “It is clean.
“The staff do care about them and do clean the place.
“They do what they can with the resources they’ve got.”
Following the visit, Karen decided to return armed with a camera, to take photographs and bring the dogs’ plight to a wider audience.
She hopes to pressure Wirral Council into investing more in the Corporation Road facility, as well as create a framework that would allow volunteers to help out.
Karen added: “For some of these dogs, it’s the last place they will see before they die.”
A spokesperson for Wirral Council said: “We are aware of the limitations of the council kennels but there is no question that the welfare of the animals is compromised in any way.”
To join the petition, visit
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/507/petition-to-help-improve-birkenhead-council-kennels http://www.wirralnews.co.uk/wirral-...tition-calls-for-support-80491-26373857/we now have 244 signatures