Pet lovers help give animals a festive feed

WOKINGHAM’S passion for pets has helped thousands of deserted animals this Christmas.

Pet owners and colleagues at Wokingham and Winnersh branches Pets at Home have helped raise a national total of £1,704,362 for homeless pets this festive season.

Since launching the annual Santa Paws appeal for its own charity, Support Adoption For Pets, on November 23, Pets at Home have raised enough money to provide 3,317,317 dinners for abandoned animals.

Wokingham store manager Alison Slade said: “What a fantastic result.

“We had so much fun raising money and are so grateful to all of our generous customers for taking part and donating much needed funds.

“It’s great to know that this money will also go towards helping these charities to keep abandoned pets healthy and happy until they find a permanent home.”

Customers shopping in Pets at Home on Finchampstead Road had the opportunity to donate 50p towards a dinner for homeless pets which spent Christmas in a rescue centre.

The Wokingham and the Winnersh stores were just two of 440 Pets at Home stores across the UK where customers could donate.

Support Adoption for Pets fundraising manager Amy Wilson said: “This year we set an ambitious target to help raise enough money to feed more homeless pets than ever before.

“When we found out that we had reached this goal, we were amazed and grateful to everyone who joined us on our mission to help make this the most special Christmas for pets in rescue centres across the UK.

“We would like to thank everybody who donated to Pets at Home Wokingham. Your help has brought a wagging tail and a happy Christmas to the lives of pets who need it most.”

The appeal ran from Black Friday until Christmas Eve, and reached the new ‘Santa Paws’ target to provide three million dinners to homeless pets across the UK. Wokingham helped the charity exceed the recordbreaking total, since the annual fundraiser launched in 2006.