Every year we help support, rehome and care for over 8,000 pets. Here at Woodgreen, we care for cats, dogs and smaller pets such as rabbits, hamsters and chickens. No matter the condition a pet arrives in, we’ll always act in their best interests.
In every single case, we’ll provide the very highest standards. This includes medical treatment and behavioural support to get the pet back to good health and ready for rehoming. We’ll provide secure and comfortable shelter for as long as it takes to find a pet a loving new home.
Unfortunately, in a small number of cases, where a pet is sick or injured and is living with unacceptable pain or distress, the kindest thing is to put them to sleep.
Occasionally, there are also animals whose behaviour poses a serious risk to the safety of other pets and people. In these cases, we feel that putting the pet to sleep is the most responsible course of action for all concerned, including the safety of our staff.
“Giving pets the best care and a second chance at living a healthy and happy life is what we do at Woodgreen. We never take the decision to put a pet to sleep lightly and fully review the pet's current and future quality of life before making a decision, ensuring that we've exhausted every other option first.”
In all cases, our small experienced team makes a careful assessment, taking into account all the factors that may affect a pet’s quality of life. In cases of severe behavioural problems, that includes the level of risk to other pets and the public. These decisions are the hardest we have to make and heartbreaking for all of us. What makes it even tougher is that we are all pet owners ourselves and form close attachments to the pets we care for every day.
In many of the extreme medical and behavioural cases we see, the animals we take in can be broken by the lives they have led, be it from abuse, lack of appropriate care or treatment. As these pets are extremely sick or distressed, we’ll act promptly so as not to prolong their physical or emotional suffering. We are also very careful to ensure that they are kept as comfortable and calm as possible and treated with respect and dignity.
As animal lovers, we would like to see far fewer pets coming to us in a very serious condition, which is why we’re continually expanding our support for pet owners. We’re here with expert advice, training and workshops, and support over the phone, all to prevent treatable health or behavioural problems from turning into an emergency. And of course, if it is an emergency we’ll always be here, ready to help, without judgement.
If there’s something you’d like expert help or advice on, please visit our pet advice page. Here you’ll find information on a wide range of support including live workshops, online training classes and specialist articles. And in case of an emergency, you can call our hotline on 0300 303 9333, open 7 days a week.
We'll do everything we can to give every pet the best possible chance of living a happy, healthy life. However, when this isn't possible we are prepared to make the choice to put them to sleep. There are no easy answers, but if you’d like to know more about how we approach this difficult challenge, then you can read our full policy here.
When you need support we're here for you. Whether you need urgent advice for your own pet, or you've found a pet who is sick or injured, you can get in touch with us and we'll help you get the right support. We have a helpline, FAQs and other helpful links to point you in the right direction.