Say hello to Cardiff Dog Home. Tucked away on the very tip of the city, you’ll find it on Westpoint Industrial Estate, Penarth Road; just up from the flyover, just down from Baron’s Court, just round the corner from the Porsche garage. Admittedly it’s not the easiest place to find, but you’ll be glad you did. Follow the road into the industrial estate and take the second right down a leafy, un-gated track towards the river and keep your ear out for the barking welcome!

A council run pound, it’s home to approximately 45 dogs at any one time and about 1200 dogs a year. It’s something of a city institution for Welsh dog lovers, and has been for over 15 years. Driven by a small but passionate team of dedicated, hardworking staff, Cardiff Dog Home is a rare breed; the RSPCA Animal Welfare Award winning centre is manned 24 hours and the staff work way beyond expectations to keep the dogs healthy, happy and ready for homing. Whether they’re strays, victims of unfortunate domestic situations or both, the team treat them as well as they possibly can. And they’re not alone.

Friends Of Cardiff Dogs Home was set up in August 2011 to help raise awareness of, and much needed funds for, the city pound. A fully transparent volunteer-run organisation where every single penny raised goes directly to the home, Friends have already raised over £3000 in their short but perfectly formed history. This has been raised through meet and greets in and around the city centre, working with Team Barclays and an astonishingly successful Christmas dog show that raised over £900 in just one afternoon!

“It’s fantastic to be working with such a proactive organisation,” says Cardiff Dogs Home manager Maria Bailie. “It’s rare that you find such harmony between a council pound and volunteer group but they understand and respect our position. We’re all working towards one goal; the dogs. I’m very excited about the future and the work we can do together.”

So how can you help?

There are many ways to give a dog a bone. Here’s how…

Find out more: There are so many ways to get involved and raise awareness of the home. Joining meet and greet street groups, spreading the word on your Facebook and Twitter accounts and getting involved in fun events such as the forthcoming pub quiz. Whether you wish to join the core group itself, or just attend the events and have a lot of fun, you can find out everything here at the Friends of Cardiff Dogs Home website.

Donate: Anything you can donate to Cardiff Dogs Home is hugely appreciated. Especially by the dogs themselves! Whether it’s a toy, a plastic 40inch bed (second hand is fine as long as they’re not too chewed and bedraggled!), or just a bag of treats, everything is welcomed with open arms and paws.

Become a walker: Be part of a growing community of walkers and help the staff by taking the dogs out yourself. With two pleasant walks just nearby, you can help the dogs immeasurably by ensuring they’re kept social and well exercised. An ideal way of getting to know the Dogs Home’s friendliest furry faces, and perfect for those who are unable to have a dog… Even 20 minutes will make a massive difference, especially if you’re able to write a little description of the dog, its personality and training needs on the Friends Of Cardiff Dogs forum; it will help them find the perfect future owner!

Adopt: Obviously this is a huge responsibility and inviting a new four-legged member to your family isn’t something that should be taken lightly. But if you know you’re ready – and fully prepared! – for the a hairy new addition then Cardiff Dogs Home should be your very first port of call.

However you want to help, just remember the directions, pop down and say hello. You’ll be glad you did.

For full details on all Cardiff Dogs Home and Friends Of Cardiff Dogs Home events visit: http://www.friendsofcardiffdogshome.org.uk/ The next event is their debut pub quiz on January 25 at the Barons Court pub, 8pm. Grab your brainiest friends and see us there!

All photos by Adam Chard