Remember, a dog is for life...

THE latest instalment of this regional series about dogs abandoned by their owners was well-timed as a reminder that a dog isn't just for Christmas but for life.

Not, the statistics show, that people in the North-East pay too much attention to that. Only Northern Ireland has worse figures for stray dogs. Somehow the phrase man's best friend doesn't seem so appropriate when you consider the ease with which too many owners lose their canine companions.

National Canine Defence League chief executive Clarissa Baldwin was clearly horrified by what she saw at Springfield Kennels in Ossett, West Yorkshire. By law, stray dogs have to be kept for a minimum of seven days. Owner Jannette Connelly takes in as many as 180 strays a month, with as many as 20 a week being "put to sleep" as they run out of kennel space.

Baldwin was appalled at the number of dogs dying because of man's inhumanity to dogs.

Not all strays are unwanted. Some are genuinely lost. The NCDL's Give A Dog A Life campaign aims to reunite them with owners. A trial scheme, launched in the North-East four years ago, led to Middlesbrough Council reporting a drop of 52 per cent in the number of dogs being destroyed. Success stories like that led to the scheme being extended around the country.

We saw Darlington-based Sarah and Jane take a micro-chipping roadshow to Castleford and Knottingley. The idea is that a dog is microchipped and, if rounded up as a stray, a quick scan reveals the number and the owner can be traced. The shortest recorded time to find an owner is 15 minutes, the longest three hours.

Sarah and Jane have to put up with unwelcome comments along the way, notably sexist jokes from men as they manoeuvre their vehicle and large trailer. "They don't expect 5ft 2in girls with blonde hair to be able to cope with a unit like this, especially when it comes to the size of the vehicle. You have a lot of men telling you how you should be reversing," said Sarah.

There are happy endings for some animals at the NCDL's Darlington centre. Like Hercules, given a home by York publican Mike Dobson.

Hercules weighed a massive 65kg, while Sugar the Yorkie was a tiny bundle of fur. She'd been returned because neighbours complained about the noise she made when her previous owners went out.

Audrey, from South Hetton, wanted to give Sugar a home, but worried how her other dogs, another Yorkie and a poodle, would react. So she arranged an informal get-together. "They've met each other and are very happy. A little bit of growling, which is only natural," she declared.

Sugar found a new home - something many other dogs will be without after Christmas.