Our local rescue centre gets plenty writeups, but the reality...well my uncle has battery hens (I don't approve but...). The kennels there put me in mind of that.

They are about 6' by 4' inside, hardly any room outside, only 4ft long. Often stinking, and the lighting is bad, there is hardly any natural light. There are no notices to tell you anything about the dogs. There is no reception area and you have to go hunting to talk to talk to anyone.

If you live in the town I live in you won't get a dog cause 'she gets too many strays from that town'. Regardless of how long you have had a dog for previously.

OK looking at it from the other side of the counter at a large rescue center. in many LARGE rescues the reception staff do not get to meet the dogs on a regular basis, the kennel staff deal with them and normally the reception staff may only meet the dogs on the day they get adopted, 2ndly at our center we have ONE person dealing with volunteers, normally they make arrangements to come to the home meet this person maybe once a month and that person is also a volunteer so we rely on them making the arrangements for these meeting, to go through a health and safety process with all new potential volunteers, if the reception staff have not been informed there is a health and safety tour being done on a particular day, then someone can get overlooked in the reception area, I know where I work this area can and does get extremely busy, and the odd occassion there is a break from the stream of people coming through and needing dealing with, is a welcome respite, You would really not know the stress, the staff are under at these places til you have worked there, the staff are constantly being abused by members of the public, especially if a dog they own has been picked up by dog wardens and the owner is responsible for any fines the staff get the brunt of all the owners frustrations and there is occassionally police involvement due to aggressive threats and danger to them. yet they are more than happy to put on a happy face in most circumstances, most of the staff at these centers are paid minimal wage to boot.

as for the smells well this is a really hard thing to overcome unfortunately, at our place you can have upto to 500 dogs in at any one time, all of these have to be cleaned up after, remember products used in these places to clean have to be safe for the dogs to be able to walk in after the cleaning has been done, it has to be safe for staff to use on a regular basis, it also has to be effective with killing off any bugs, odor killing disenfectants are not as effective when dealing with such large numbers of dogs, nor is it as effective in killing off bugs as lets say bleach or chlorine based products, there are products like safe4 which is safe for dogs /humans/ etc but does not combat odour very well, keeping these large kennels is like painting the tower bridge its ongoing, and the places can NEVER look pristine, nor can they always be top of the range, state of the art soundproof kennels we would all love to have the dogs kept in, finanace for this has to come anywhere and if you are a non goverment funded charity, you rely on the donations of the public. the noise in large kennels is hard on the ears, but I must say that when the public are not walking around the dogs settle down and are reasonably quiet. I would say to you go back to the kennel, do your volunteering and help the dogs in whatever way you can, get to know the staff, see what they are up against day in day out, and just maybe you will see a different side to the staff, the kennels etc. we always value our volunteers they give dogs a bit of a break taking them for walks etc, getting them out of the environment for a while, the staff appreaciate the volunteers because the staff get attached to these dogs and want the best for them, want them to be socialised as much as possible because then maybe just maybe the dog will eventually find that perfect home?

mo

I went to a council dog pound for a new dog and it was the pits!!!! with smells of discinfectant ant urine and bare newly hosed out cells.
Next I went to the NCDL now Dog's Trust and what a difference with soft furnishings and clean and airy. No enclosure faced another and so no kennel agression and a large enclosure for free runningand socialising.
Before you are near a dog you are vetted by questionaire then a home visit is done before THEY decide if you are suitable and a week later you are allowed to meet the dog of your choice and theirs because they match you up to a dog then you have the dog for a trial period before finally adopting and signing the contract to say you abide by their conditions ---love!!!! food shelter and care. I was very impressed by the time taken to ensure the welfare of the dog and also my peace of mind with after adoption support and advice. I am now a long time supporter of Dog's Trust as I feel they are trully on the side of the dog and not out for monetary gain in the process. Go to a Dog's Trust if at all possible

i tell you what steph i know ,they think a flat is not ideal ,but what i cant get my head round is they would rarther but the dog to sleep if it has been over looked ,ie not good looking enough ,it really upsets me that dos ,if they are in a flat ,the chances are ,they will get more walks ,as they have to go out to do there buisness ,i know lots of ,people in the surrounding ares ,who live in houses with few dogs and never ever walk . its just not good enough ,it needs re addressing i rekon .these dogs need second chance

In my previous post i did not mention the kennels, they are not the most luxurious, certainly not as good as the Dogs Trust ones sound. but they are all kept clean and each dog has a bed and blankets, toys ect. They may not be huge, and spacious, but of course for some dogs it may be the first place where they feel safe and are looked after.

If I'm walking a dog and they see the person who looks after their block, they go mad to go over and see them and they give them such a good greeting. There is a genuine fondness for each other. As I have remarked, they may be the first person ever to show some of the dogs kindness.

The shelter is run as a charity, but does mainly receive dogs from the wardens and police, so they have to keep them for 7 days before rehoming.

However surely any dog whether from dogs trust or a council home deserves a chance, I know eferg says go to Dogs Trust if possible, but it's impossible for all homeless dogs to end up in the relative luxury of of a dogs trust kennel, so don't be put off by the look of a place, I know it can be quite overwhelming to see some kennels, but each and every one of those dogs deserves a loving home! They all need a chance!

My RSPCA in Dorset are vile very very rude offered my services was told dont need any help, and spoke to people like ****e.

It's almost as if they expect respect from us just because of the job they do, rather than because of how they treat other people and animals!

Dogs dont know what prisons look like, please dont do the anthromorphism bit, dogs dont!

Sorry mate, what does this mean?

That's the thing, they look like prisons to us, but for some dogs it will be the first safety they know.

Most certainly it is not perfect living for the dogs, but where I go they are kept clean and are well cared for by the staff. I upset myself sometimes thinking of them locked up all night especailly the ones who have been there a while, but again it is probably better from most of them there, than wherever they have lived before, (not all of course I realise people have to give up their pets for many reasons).