A small organisation of devoted animal-lovers has extended a helping hand to homeless dogs for more than a decade.
For 10 years, Care For The Paw has provided homeless dog owners with tinned dog food, blankets, and free vet care for their four-legged friends, who in turn provide love, companionship and comfort on the bitingly cold streets of Liverpool.
Founder Jan Hughes said: "I was in the garden one night, I had five dogs at the time, and it was really bitterly cold. So I got to thinking about how the guys and girls on the streets got on with their dogs.
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"The next morning I got a lot of carrier bags together, put half a dozen cans of dog food and a blanket in each one, came to Liverpool and dropped them off, and didn't say anything to anyone. After about six weeks of doing that, people started to look for me. Chatting to them, you got to find out how the came to be on the streets.
"There's a common misconception that guys come onto the streets and then get a dog. It doesn't happen like that. A lot of the boys have been in a relationship, and when the relationship breaks down it's usually the guy who goes out with the dog, and they turn up here asking for help.
"The amount of times you hear 'this dog is my life'. You hear it all the time, and it's true. It keeps the guys in a routine - the dog has to be walked and fed, and all the dog wants in return is to be with its owner. They absolutely adore the dogs. The dogs are better looked-after than they are themselves - the dogs always eat before they do.
"We don't find any cases of neglect. When we first started, one of our vets wrote a list of everything she thought she'd find, negelct, mistreatment, things like that, when in fact it's completely the opposite. They're all really well looked-after."
The charity used to operate on the steps of St Luke’s Bombed Out Church, but in 2020 it moved to 157 Duke Street, where it holds drop-in sessions every Wednesday. Members of Liverpool's homeless community can pick up dog food, harnesses and leads, and have their four-legged pals checked by a vet free of charge.
There are currently around 40 dogs on their books, from Staffordshire bull terriers and French bulldogs to Jack Russels, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Shi Tzus and a one-eyed Sharpei.
Vet Rob Baylis, who started volunteering at Care For The Paw in September 2022 after giving up his 20-year Wirral surgery, said: "It is very unusual to find an animal that's not well cared for. I've worked in private practice where it's maybe not always the case. But with these guys, the dog is a priority.
"I expected to see a few problems, and generally there isn't. Yes, they're limited by what they're able to do if any illness comes up, but we do what we can here and if there's something more involved, if they need surgery, we call on the PDSA.
"What's really nice about it is we build up quite a rapport. People generally don't come just once; they come on a regular basis, so we build that trust. There might come a point where we have to take the animal off them for surgery and they need to know it's going with someone they know and trust."
Demi Ann Smith, from Huyton, paid a visit to the charity with her one-year-old Staffy-Bullmastiff cross, Bruce, on Wednesday. The 22-year-old, who recently moved into a flat after spending several months on the streets, was referred by Liverpool City Council.
She said: "He's been my little anchor. My best mate. He kept me warm, he'd always protect me. He'd never go for anyone, but if anyone attacked me, he'd probably bark at them. He'd keep me safe. It was hard, don't get me wrong, it was hard to settle him into sleeping on the streets, but it wasn't too bad. He kept me warm."
Jan said: "We run the surgery here because a lot of the guys won't go anywhere else. Sometimes we'll book an appointment and they won't turn up - their lives are very chaotic and you've got to remember that. So we do outreach, taking tins of food, blankets round the city.
"We like them to come in because we can weigh them here, we can worm and flea them.
"Liverpool is lucky because the council does allow dogs into some hostels. Not all of them, but the majority do accept dogs... but before they can be accepted, they must be vaccinated, flead and wormed, and we can help with that. It does slow things down a bit, but the majority of people on the streets will get rehoused with their dogs."
She added: "We're incredibly lucky that the people of Liverpool are so generous. We've got loads of dog food, there's ladies who knit blankets for is, and we're so grateful because without people doing that, we wouldn't be able to keep doing what we do. People send us recurring payments every month for vet bills.
"There's so many more dogs going onto the streets with their owners now. People can't afford to live properly. Another problem is that if somebody's living at home with their parents, and something happens to their parents and that person is not on the lease, they're out on the streets. I dont know where it's all going to go. Hopefully we can all cope with it."
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