HOMELESS dogs will enjoy a Christmas dinner this year thanks generous students at Reaseheath College, in Nantwich.

The students were so touched by the plight of the 350 unwanted dogs and puppies which are rescued on average each year they decided to organise a Christmas collection for the charity, Animal Lifeline.

The students donated dog food, treats, toys and blankets and made sure that the gifts were delivered in time for the festive season. The collection was the idea of animal management instructor Emma Hunt, who visited the charity while looking for her own dog.

Emma said: “Animal Lifeline is a voluntary group that receives no official grants and relies solely on fund raising and donations. It has saved more that 10,000 dogs and puppies in total, doesn’t have dogs put down unless on veterinary advice and keeps some dogs permanently if they cannot be re-homed.”

Coincidentally, Animal Lifeline and Reaseheath also worked together in the recent rescue of eight puppies which were heartlessly dumped hours after birth. The newborns, which were abandoned in a cardboard box in a cemetery, were taken in by the charity and passed to Reaseheath animal management course manager and lecturer Emma Caskie because of her specialist skills in hand rearing puppies.

The terrier type puppies were fed round-the-clock by Emma Caskie and were cared for by students and staff at Reaseheath’s animal management centre. Now thriving, they have been returned to Animal Lifeline for rehoming.