Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, will be delivering hampers to homeless dogs this Christmas after 170 homelessness organisations requested parcels for 1200 dogs. With the number of people rough sleeping in England doubling since 2010, this service is as vital as ever. The charity will be delivering gifts to homelessness organisations in Birmingham for almost 30 dogs.

Christmas comes early to Central Library with an afternoon of festive fun and games for younger visitors. It is holding Christmas Crackers on Thursday 22 December, featuring Christmas story-telling and crafts, a magic show and balloon making, and carol singing with the City of Wolverhampton Council Choir. There will also be the chance to win a family ticket to see this year's big pantomime, Aladdin, courtesy of the Grand Theatre by taking part in a wordsearch competition.

A local couple’s generosity will put a roof over the heads of some of Birmingham’s most vulnerable people over Christmas. Steph and Matthew Neville have donated a house where people can live while they seek asylum in the city. After seeing the plight of asylum seekers left homeless and destitute on the streets of Birmingham, the couple decided to donate their house. To help cover the costs of maintaining the house, the couple have also raised nearly £5,000 with family, friends and other local people.

John Taylor Hospice is looking for craftspeople, DIY experts and artists to run workshops for patients, families and local people. The workshops and groups will all take place in the hospice’s newly launched Moments Shed, which is housed in the grounds of the hospice in Erdington. The inspiration for Moments Shed came from John Taylor’s Well-Being and Heart of the Hospice Teams to encourage patients and families to find emotional support through coming together and enjoying practical tasks.

Generous Tesco customers got into the festive spirit by donating more than 2.8 million meals to people in need during the ninth Neighbourhood Food Collection, which took place between 1 and 3 December. This collection brings the total number of meals collected by Tesco customers to an astounding 41 million since the programme began in 2012. The collection provides essential food for people in need over the festive period and beyond, and will now be redistributed through foodbank charity, The Trussell Trust and food redistribution charity, FareShare.

One in three vets who treat pets have seen puppies they believe to have been illegally imported from overseas in the last year, according to figures released by the UK's leading body for vets the British Veterinary Association (BVA). BVA’s Voice of the Veterinary Profession, which surveyed over 1,000 vets from across the UK, revealed that vets’ suspicions had been raised for several reasons including foreign microchips and the puppy’s age not matching the age given in its passports, with some vets also citing the puppy’s health as a problem after seeing cases of parvovirus and kennel cough.