Our five year strategy

Right now, more dogs need our support than ever. Here's how we're going to help them.

We’re already a lifeline for thousands of dogs, but right now more dogs need our help than ever before. So we’re aiming big. Really big. We’re going to help three million of our faithful friends, every year.

Three million:

the number of dogs we're going to help every year.

An illustration of Homer bowing and sniffing a flower

In the UK, that means we’re moving from helping tens of thousands of dogs, to hundreds of thousands, whilst internationally, we’re working to reach millions. Our vision is a better life for every dog. This strategy sets out our ambitious plan for exactly how we’re going to achieve that, through our mission, to be there when and where dogs need us most.

And you’re part of it. If you love dogs like we do, come and join us. The dogs who need us are waiting.

Our vision for the future

Growing pressures on owners are having the biggest impact on dogs we’ve ever seen. If we don’t find ways to help, these pressures could define dog welfare for decades to come. We’re working tirelessly to create a world where every dog can stay with their owners.

At our 22 UK and Ireland rehoming centres, we have the expertise, infrastructure and support to give every dog in our care a second chance at a forever home.

Internationally, dogs face different but equally urgent challenges – from culling for population control to countless dogs dying unnecessarily without basic, timely veterinary care. Working with our sister charity Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS), from ten global clinics and training hubs, we help and will continue to help dogs on a scale that few organisations can match.

So, whether it’s caring for them, lending their owner a helping hand, or finding them a loving family, we’re here whenever, and wherever they need us most – around the corner and around the world – because we believe a dog is for life.

Our strategic priorities

To focus our strategy, we looked at what dogs are facing now, what they will face in the years ahead, and where our expert knowledge and reach can help them most.

We drew on the insight of our behaviour teams, veterinary experts, and frontline staff across all our teams in the UK and Ireland. We combined this with the knowledge gained through our international work with WVS and with what we learned from research including from dog owners, partners, volunteers, and supporters in our National Dog Survey.

From this work, we’ve developed our five strategic objectives:

Prevention – we help dogs and owners live better together
Rehoming – we help dogs find their forever home
International – we're creating a better world for all dogs
Brand engagement – we're building a community of dog lovers
Fundraising – we're raising money to help dogs when and where they need us most.

Prevention – we help dogs and owners live better together

We’ll intervene to provide expert support when owners are struggling, so that more dogs can stay in the homes they love. By being there for people when they are facing challenges, we’ll reduce the number of dogs who need to be rehomed.

Our plan:

investing in developing our expertise and specialist staff to enable more owners access to our behaviour advice and support when they need it
expanding our digital services to give owners the guidance and tools they need to prevent problems escalating
developing partnerships including with schools and local charities and campaigning on Responsible Dog Ownership.

Supporting dogs and their owners

Rehoming – we help dogs find their forever home

We’ll be there to care for and support our four-legged friends, when their owners can no longer care for them, until we can help them find their forever home.

Our plan:

Reducing the amount of time dogs spend in our rehoming centres, by getting the support they need.
Expanding our fostering network.
Redeveloping our rehoming centres starting with West Calder, Merseyside and Glasgow.

Rehoming

International – we're creating a better world for all dogs

Together with our sister charity WVS we’re building a safer future for millions of dogs around the world, by providing much needed access to veterinary care and helping to keep them healthy – when and where we can make the most impact.

Our plan:

Eliminating dog-mediated rabies through our mass dog vaccination campaigns.
Community education and engagement so dogs can live safely alongside people.
Providing access to veterinary care by training professionals and strengthening local systems.

Our global work

Dogs Trust Ireland

Brand engagement – we're building a community of dog lovers

We’re one of the nation’s most loved animal welfare organisations but we need to raise our profile, to engage more people in our work, whether that is lending their voice in supporting a campaign, volunteering at one of our centres or giving generously to support our work.

Our plan:

Raise the profile of Dogs Trust, spotlighting our work and how to get involved.
Engage with more people, to build a community of people who love dogs and care about our work.
Develop partnerships that can turbo charge how Dogs Trust is seen, to reach new audiences and grow our community.

Fundraising – we're raising money to help dogs when and where they need us most

We’ll grow long-term sustainable income and impact through excellent fundraising and supporter experiences.

Our plan:

build a solid, diverse fundraising mix that’s powered by our supporters and built to last
focus on fewer but more established events to build towards long-term fundraising goals
maximise the return on every pound invested in fundraising.

Read our full strategy

Find out more about our ambitious plans and how we’re going to achieve them.

Read our full strategy

Want to get involved?

Help us change the world for millions of dogs by donating, adopting, fostering, volunteering or becoming a Pawlitical champion.

When we all come together as one community, there’s no limit to what we can do. Together, we can make sure we’re always there for dogs—when and where they need us most.

Will you help dogs?