After months of wet weather, many of us have been relieved to see a spot of sunshine poking out from behind the clouds in recent days. And as we step into spring, it's the perfect time to go for a walk along the beach or at a local park with family and friends - whether human or animal.
Whilst dogs are often seen as man's best friend, not every dog has a best friend to care for it, walk it, love it or offer it a forever home. Undoubtedly, the staff and volunteers at dogs homes across Wales work tirelessly to feed, look after and offer medical support to dogs without owners - but they're desperate to see their gorgeous pooches adopted into real families.
We visited Cardiff Dogs' Home this week to meet some of the adorable canines in need of forever homes - you can watch a video from our visit below - could you put the spring in their step and adopt them, offering them a place to call home?
Read more: Valleys roofer finds a lost dog and makes hilarious video about their brief adventures
Cardiff Dogs' Home is currently full, so the team are really keen to hear from prospective adopters for their dogs. But each prospective adopter is required to fill in an application form, to ensure they're a good-match for the dog.
"It's pretty mental here, to put it lightly. We're full. We've actually got more dogs in the kennels than we have kennels, there's two more coming in this afternoon [Wednesday], I think that takes us up to 48/50 [dogs], we have 44 kennels," staff said.
"We're seeing an increase in numbers, particularly since January. We knew that things were going to get difficult post-pandemic, it's really happening now, the numbers are very significant. We had 10 requests to take dogs in from their owners, on one day alone. So I think we had 16 all together this week and we are literally only half-way through the week. So we could have as many as 30 dogs on a waiting list to get in here, by Friday, and we're full."
Potential adopters are reminded to carefully read through the information for each dog, which you can find on the Cardiff Dogs Home website here, to ensure they can offer everything the dog may need and that their home is suitable for the dog.
Ragner
Ragner is a large-sized, middle-aged American bulldog looking for a home where there aren't any children or other dogs. He isn't suitable for first-time dog owners and needs someone with experience of owning a bulldog that is willing to take him to training classes.
Staff at Cardiff Dogs' Home say Ragner is "the biggest puppy at heart" and that once he has a bond with someone, "his whole body will wag" when he greets them. Confidence-building is something that needs to be worked on, as is "dog socialisation," so he needs an owner that is dedicated to supporting him. More information here
Sylvia
Sylvia is a six-year-old Staffie cross looking for an adults-only home with no other pets. She's looking for a quiet home and needs lots of exercise, so isn't suitable for first-time dog owners.
Sylvia would prefer to live outside of the Cardiff area and would need her new owner to take her to training classes and be able to spend lots of time with her at home. She is on a "weight loss journey" at the moment, Cardiff Dogs' Home said, so her new family will have to be committed to giving her regular exercise and sticking to a meal plan.
Nikita
This gorgeous pooch is looking for a quiet home and an owner that has experience with her breed. She's not suitable for first-time dog owners and needs an owner who is at home most of the time.. She may be suitable to live with a family that has older children, but can't live with other dogs or any cats. She will need help with socialising, but has a very sweet temperament and "so much love to give," staff said.
Mowana and Coco
Mowana and Coco are a gorgeous pair of French bulldogs who have lots of energy and are very playful. But unfortunately, they do have some health conditions due to being the products of cross-breeding.
"French bulldogs shouldn't come in this colour. These two are good examples of the breed, but they shouldn't come in this colour, this is a result of cross-breeding for fashion, as opposed to healthy breeding for health and longevity," staff at Cardiff Dogs' Home said.
Coco is Mowana's mum and the pair have such a bond that they cannot be separated. They're looking for a home that can take care of them both together.
For more information about these, and the other pooches in need of homes, currently living at Cardiff Dogs' Home. Visit the Home's website here.
Want to know when the weather will be perfect walk your pooch? Type in your postcode below to read the latest weather forecast for your area:
