DOG rehoming soared during lockdown as families spent more time at home due to the pandemic and home-workers sought the companionship of a four-legged friend.

New figures, released by the RSPCA, reveal that 4,877 dogs were rehomed in 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown. In Cumbria, the RSPCA rehomed 85 dogs in 2020.

RSPCA dog welfare expert Dr Samantha Gaines said: “At the beginning of lockdown we were concerned about how difficult it might be to rehome animals, especially as we had to pause all rehoming for several weeks until we were able to come up with a new rehoming model that adhered to the Government’s guidelines.

“Once we had approval from Defra to re-launch rehoming, we were staggered by the levels of interest we had in our animals; particularly our dogs. We saw an unprecedented level of interest in rehoming dogs from families who were spending more time at home and wanted the company of a furry friend."

The charity launched virtual rehoming in order to continue rehoming animals while still sticking to the Government’s restrictions on social distancing and non-essential travel. People were encouraged to apply for pets online and staff arranged video call interviews and meet and greets to match the right homes with the right people.