Charity releases new festive advert
Dogs Trust appeal
West Lothian animallovers are being urged to remember not to buy something very particular this Christmas.
Dogs Trust, the charity behind the famous ‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas’ slogan, has launched a Christmas advert, featuring the very important message that ‘ dogs aren’t Christmas presents’.
The film has been promoted by the fact that every year the charity takes in dogs who were unwanted Christmas presents.
Last year alone, Dogs Trust had nearly 5000 calls from people wanting to handover their dogs in the month after Christmas, with many of these being Christmas presents once their owners realised the responsibilities of dog ownership.
In the comical advert we see actors treating Christmas presents like dogs – taking a games console for a walk, throwing a ball for a hairdryer, trying to get a drone to sit and saying goodnight to a bottle of perfume.
The scene then switches to a woman trying to wrap a dog as a present before TV presenter Mel Giedroyc explains in a voiceover that ‘Christmas presents aren’t dogs! And dogs aren’t Christmas presents. A dog is for life, not just for Christmas’.
Susan Tonner, rehoming centre manager at Dogs Trust in West Calder, said: “Once the initial Christmas sparkle has worn off and people realise the huge commitment it takes to own a dog, they come into our care. It’s heartbreaking for us to see when it could so easily have been prevented. Dogs are a wonderful addition in the right circumstances, but before bringing one into our homes we all need to think whether they are right for our lifestyles and, whether we can give them a home for life. Christmas presents aren’t dogs, and dogs aren’t Christmas presents. It’s that simple.”