It breaks my heart but we just can't give him the time he deserves...

An all too common phrase used when people decide to give up a family dog for re homing. I understand it can be difficult to juggle family/work/dogs and other commitments, and maybe the perfect family does exist for your dog somwwhere.

But, there are literally thousands of dogs looking for homes right now, and many of those will be put to sleep before the year is out.

So think again, could you afford a dogwalker or pop home at lunchtime? Is your dog really distressed or are you trying to give them a perfect life?

I work full-time, only some of that is from home and I now belong to three border collies. They go on fewer walks than you might think though we do run together several times a week. More often we spend quality time doing silly training and playing finding games in the garden. Kongs are a great way of passing the time and regular massage means they're all pretty good at relaxing.

I'm not a perfect home by any stretch of the imagination, but I promise you that those homes are few and far between. Rescues are stretched further than ever right now, and a less than perfect home is probably still better than a lonely kennel.

Taking on a dog is adopting a family member - so please think long and hard before you give up on them.