Hundreds of homeless dogs get Christmas presents after 'mind-blowing' response to heart-warming festive appeal

Shropshire Canine, run by Cheryl Gibson of Broseley, has been running a 'Pawfect Presents' appeal in the lead-up to Christmas.

The appeal asked for donations of food, toys and treats for homeless dogs, which Cheryl and her helpers then delivered to a host of smaller rescue centres across the region - finally finishing at around 3pm on Christmas Eve, which also happened to be Cheryl's birthday.

After an astonishing response to the appeal - which has seen half of Cheryl's home taken up by donations - hundreds of gifts have now been handed out to dogs across Shropshire and the wider region.

The pooches even got the chance to pick their own gift as Cheryl handed over the presents.

The heart-warming appeal, and the heart-melting response, has seen donations to Grinshill Animal Rescue in Shrewsbury, Birch Hill Dog Rescue near Cleobury Mortimer, Pawprints to Freedom in Cheshire, High Hopes Dog Rescue in Kidderminster, Dun-roamin rescue, Brighter Days Rescue in Penkridge, and Forest Dog Rescue in Worcestershire.

Cheryl, who has spent the past three days delivering the presents, said she had been astonished at the reaction to the appeal.

She said: "We put out an appeal and the boxes came flooding in. There were other businesses that jumped onboard to be drop-off points all over the place - Shrewsbury, Oswestry, Ironbridge - all over.

"It has blown my mind, I was really, really shocked. The response from the general public, it was just overwhelming."

The donations have come in all shapes and sizes, with scores of shoeboxes packed with treats.

Cheryl said: "We have had shoe boxes, big bags of food, Amazon boxes - lots of them. It was all sorts, tins upon tins of food, it was everything."

With hundreds of donations, the treats have taken over Cheryl's home, with her entire kitchen filled with boxes and bags of gifts destined for homeless dogs.

She said: "It has taken up half of my house. I had no kitchen at all so it was really good to be able to deliver it all before Christmas.

"We have had endless car loads, packing it up, for the last three days it has been non-stop."

Cheryl thanked all those who have donated, as well as the businesses that helped.

She said: "We are really honoured to be able to put it out there and have the response we have had. It has been an absolute joy to be able to deliver it to the rescues - we have seen a few dogs coming out and choosing their boxes.

"Seeing how happy the dogs are choosing their own toys is just amazing."

The appeal also received some celebrity support from reality star Vicky Pattinson.

The former Geordie Shore star sent presents for one particular dog - Ross at Birch Hill.

That comes after she shared an appeal for another Shropshire rescue dog earlier this year, and helped get him a home after being homeless for five years.

Asked if she would be doing the same next year Cheryl said: "Yes, but next year I am going to start it earlier and finish earlier!"

For information about Shropshire Canine visit https://www.shropshirek9.com/.