All Staffie Peggy want for Christmas is a new home

With less than eight weeks until Christmas, Dogs Trust Manchester is on a mission to find the dogs in its care the one Christmas gift they all want – a home for life.  

And the team particularly want to find eight-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier Cross, Peggy, a spot on her very own sofa in time for the big day.    

Lisa Eardley, Manager at Dogs Trust Manchester, said: “Christmas is fast approaching and while we will make sure that Peggy and all the dogs in our care over Christmas are well looked after, with festive treats and gifts galore, we all know there’s nowhere quite like home and we’d like to see as many as possible settled in their new happy places ahead of Christmas. 

“Peggy is a gorgeous girl who came back to us in March this year and sadly hasn’t found her special someone yet. She first arrived at Dogs Trust as a two-month-old puppy, so she didn’t have a great start to life.

"Now she is an older lady we want to give her her furry-tail ending by finding her a forever home with a new family that she can enjoy this Christmas and all future Christmases with.” 

For almost 50 years, Dogs Trust has been linked to Christmas thanks to the famous phrase “A Dog is for Life, Not Just for Christmas”, penned by the charity’s team in 1978 in response to the large number of puppies bought as Christmas gifts and then abandoned in January. While the charity no longer sees a large number of puppies handed over in January, the last three years have been some of the busiest on record for Dogs Trust. In 2022 it received over 50,000 handover requests, with a further 45,000 last year, and over 32,000 so far this year.  

Fortunately, thanks to local dog lovers, Dogs Trust Manchester has found hundreds of dogs new homes this year, but Peggy is still waiting. Peggy is looking for a home with a secure garden where she can play and relax, and she could happily live with older teenagers. She loves to cuddle and be with people, so she’d like a home with someone around all the time whilst she settles in, and she’d prefer there to be few visitors as she likes to take a little time to get to know people.  

Lisa said:  “She is an amazing girl and with a few tasty treats and the chance to have a fuss made of her, she soon builds up a bond. She loves to play with her toys and go for a walk and then she’s happy to snooze on the sofa. 

“We are so busy as sadly so many people are finding that they need to hand over their dog and we are grateful to everyone who chooses to adopt from us as that means we can help more dogs in need. Although Peggy has become a firm favourite with the team, however much we love her, nothing would make us happier than seeing her loving life in her new home before Christmas.” 

For more information about Peggy and all the dogs in the care of Dogs Trust Manchester please go to www.dogstrust.org.uk/manchester