AN ANIMAL charity working in foot-and-mouth-infected areas has called in Northallerton Samaritans to help deal with distressed dog owners.

Border Collie Rescue, based in Richmond, re-homes collies and working sheepdogs. The epidemic has meant demand for its services has soared.

"We have had to suspend our normal pet re-homing operations to cope," said Mr Mike Cooke.

"We got involved because we heard stories of farmers putting their dogs down because they were afraid of spreading foot-and-mouth or they felt there was nothing left for the dogs to do,"

The said the upset of having their pets re-housed had proved devastating for some farmers. "Parting with a dog is often traumatic. When this is happening as a result of the foot-and-mouth outbreak, the build-up can make people particularly emotional.

"We had a lot of disturbing phone calls and although we train our volunteers to be well-mannered and polite, we are not trained to deal with people who suddenly break down in the middle of a conversation.

"We all left work feeling really depressed last week, and one of our ladies burst into tears after a particularly bad call."

The charity felt its workers could not cope and called on the Samaritans for help. Five volunteers from Border Collie Rescue were given a basic course in Samaritan listening skills this week, and are being offered counselling themselves with the Samaritans after any upsetting encounters.

"We are very grateful to the Samaritans for their prompt response to our request for assistance and the way they quickly and accurately summed up and addressed our needs," said Mr Cooke

Mr David Haynes, director of the Samaritans' Northallerton branch, said: "Many people in rural areas are experiencing a deeply traumatic time in the face of this latest crisis. The listening skills we train our volunteers with can be particularly valuable to others in the community during this present crisis."

Border Collie Rescue this week launched a register, backed by Maff, for farmers hit by foot-and-mouth who want to find their dogs new homes.

A registration form is available on the charity's web-site at www.bordercollierescue.org, or farmers can ring in with their details, on 01748 850025.

l Yesterday, the number of foot-and-mouth cases nationally had risen to 1241, with three more reported in County Durham.

l Foot-and-mouth round-up: page 1