Dogs Trust is the UK's largest dog welfare charity.
Their slogan 'A Dog is for Life, Not Just for Christmas' has significantly reduced the
number of dogs given as gifts and then abandoned.
But sadly there are still thousands of stray or unwanted dogs every year.
At the Rehoming Centre in Leeds a dog has just been rescued from the stray kennels.
She's a one year old tri coloured Terrier called Izzy.
To begin with Izzy is put in the play compound which gives Canine Carer Joy a chance to get
to know her better
I got a phone call from my local stray kennels to see if we could take in a little terrier.
She'd been there for over a week.
Nobody had homed her, nobody had claimed her, and if we didn't take her she would have been
put to sleep.
So what else would be do but bring her in here?
She has got these very strange legs where she just hops, she doesn't walk like a normal
dog.
But personally I think that's part of her character and makes her the unique dog that
she is.
Izzy will be referred to the Dogs Trust vet to see if he can determine the reason for
this unusual bunny hopping.
In the meantime, Joy thinks Izzy will make a wonderful family pet
She's very, very loving.
Very playful.
She's a bit cheeky.
And she will make an adorable companion.
I think she'll need somebody that would be with her most of the time because she just
wants lots of cuddles.
It's not unusual for stray dogs to arrive here with health problems.
When two year old Shih Zhu Kev was picked up he could hardly see out of his left eye
and his feet were in very bad condition.
Couldn't be a lot worse.
Gunky eyes and gunky feet, and smells.
This is about you, little man.
Vet Mr Wannop gave Kev's eye and feet a good clean and then put him on a course of antibiotics.
That was two weeks ago.
Today Kev's come back to Dogs Trust with his new owner and a new name.
We changed his name to Toby.
As you know, it was Kev.
But he never used to answer Kev, and we went through a number of names and eventually we
got to Toby and he started answering to it, so that's the reason we've called him Toby.
It's time for the vet to check Toby over to see how his face and feet are healing up
How's he getting on.
Good.
Fantastic.
Toby, we call him now.
Toby.
We do, don't we?
No longer Kev.
Hello, mate.
How are you getting on?
Look at you.
This has dried up beautifully on here.
And how's the feet going?
Feet, marvellous.
We've just let them settle down.
Yeah.
But they've all dried up a little bit.
I think when we took on the Friday.
Yeah.
I mean, these are a heap better than they were.
Because when we clipped him up the other week, I mean, this was just red raw.
Yeah, it's only ten days.
So it's coming away like.
I mean, we've still got little bits of scabby bits there which I'd be happier to see the
back of.
But they're going.
They're going.
I mean, this was just one great mass and when we clippered it all off it was just red raw.
So yeah, oh youll look like a proper Shih Zhu with a wash and brush up, won't you.
Toby has been living with his new owners for ten days now and he's settling in well.
It's just now after a week he started barking when somebody knocks at door.
So he must feel at home.
At the first he just used to lay there.
But walking, he loves going out.
Walks for hours and hours and hours.
For a little dog, I've never know it.
It�s all he wants to do is walk.
And other dogs loves people altogether.
And his temperament's absolutely fantastic.
In the next episode -why does Izzy hop like a bunny?
It's almost as if the two back legs can't work independently.
Now, we're trying to get to the bottom of that.
And will Freddy get a new home?
I'm in need of a companion.
A dog that I can take wherever I got in the car and to just love and cuddle.