Cannon Hill Park was filled with woofs, waggly tails and cries of ‘walkies’ as more than 300 dogs took the lead for animal welfare. Dogs of all shapes and sizes enjoyed the sun as they walked around Cannon Hill Park to raise vital funds for the country’s oldest and largest animal welfare charity.
There were staggered start times from 10am to give the dogs plenty of room and lots of water stations for the thirsty pups!
Duke (pictured) was one of the RSPCA rescue dogs that took part in the walk with his new adoptive owners.
One of the dogs taking part in the Big Walkies will be Duke who was adopted from our Birmingham Animal Centre in November last year by Angela and Andrew Swann.
Black labrador Duke had been in the centre for a year after being rescued by one of our inspectors after Duke had been neglected. He weighed just 14kg and had severe hair loss.
After lots of tests at the vets it was discovered his emaciation was simply down to lack of regular meals, and his hair loss was easily treated by applying flea treatment and medicated baths. Now he is unrecognisable with his thick luscious coat and his weight has rocketed up to 25kg.
His new owner Andrew Swann said: ““I would encourage everyone to sign up to BIG Walkies as getting out with your dog is great for health and fitness and you can help less fortunate dogs at the same time.”
RSPCA Chief Vet James Yeates said: “It is fantastic to see so many people out walking with their dogs.
“Dogs need their exercise and love spending time with their owners too and it is great to see so many people enjoying the company of their dogs too.
“Dog walking has many lifestyle benefits including socialisation, exercising to keep trim and for busy modern lives many people find it a form of stress relief.”
RSPCA Big Walkies rounds off RSPCA Week – the charity’s largest annual awareness raising event running between 31 May - 7 June. The theme for this year is looking at the core areas of the RSPCA's work in rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming animals.