After watching the advert for donations I'm considering signing up.
But does anyone have any experience of this? They promise that the dog you sponsor will write to you and send photos which is nice, but I would like to choose which dog to make sure we are compatible and have shared interests.
Are there particular dogs that are more fun than others (I don't do politics, ballet or train spotting if that helps)?

You should choose a dog that has good literacy skills or else it probably won't write to you. Either that or it'll just go 'woof woof'.

We donate and yes, you do get a letter from the dogs each month 😆
You also get the opportunity to go and visit them too

If you want to make sure you're a good match, you can go down and see them and even take it home with you.

We've donated for the last 6 years and get letters and updates on our sponsor dog.

They tend to send out other bits and bobs like calenders etc.

The magazine they send through called 'Wag' isn't too bad.

Not just the Dogs Trust, but any charity like this, is there a box to tick that says "stop wasting money on the PR stuff, I'd rather my donation was focused in the dog"?

It must be hard for charities to get donations these days, there are that many different ones all trying to get help.

I wonder if the current financial climate has affected their donations?

Onzadog – Member
Not just the Dogs Trust, but any charity like this, is there a box to tick that says "stop wasting money on the PR stuff, I'd rather my donation was focused in the dog"?

I've not noticed one myself, would be a good idea though.

It must be hard for charities to get donations these days, there are that many different ones all trying to get help.

I'm wandering off topic a little but I heard someone making an interesting point about this on the radio a few years back, which was that charities don't merge and buy each other up in the same way that businesses do. As a for-instance he pointed out there are something like 20 charities in the uk dealing with homelessness. Some of those will have the capital, some will have the expertise or visionary staff, some will have a good brandname but few will have all three so he wondered why those charities with similar aims aren't merging to create a smalller number of well resourced, quality staffed agencies with strong brands.

I just wonder who they aim these adverts at. Well I suppose it's pretty clear in this case, but are there enough soppy people around to make it worth targeting them? Don't get me wrong, I see the need and have volunteered my time to some animal charities and without constant donations they might fold pretty quickly, but personally I would much prefer a more factual approach.