Last week we held our first Kennel Break event and it was a paw-sitive success! Business leaders from five local businesses including Calibro Consultants, Setfords Solicitors, Flex Digital agency and Bristol’s Department for Work and Pensions ‘ruffed’ it for the day in a kennel block at Bristol Animal Rescue Centre, raising over £3000! Locked in with just their laptops and phones for company, they competed against each other, and their teams back at the office, to raise donations to buy their freedom.

The challenge came about as we, along with many charities, continue to struggle with the cost of living crisis. Animal intake is up 8.4% nationally, as increasing numbers of pet owners face financial difficulties and more pets are being signed over to rescue centres.

This year has been one of the toughest in our 136-year history. We are still working through the aftermath of the covid crisis, and all the struggles that came with that, and now we have the Cost of Living crisis to cope with too. Animal abandonments are up 24% nationally and we are seeing that play out at Bristol A.R.C. too, with some truly heart-breaking cases. We’re seeing a rise in demand for our services as people struggle with their bills, with many of the animals coming to us needing more tailored support for longer, and our costs are all increasing too, all at a time when people have less to give.

We rely on the generous support of our local community to fund our vital work, and it’s a real challenge right now. We’re here for people, for pets and for Bristol, so we’re extremely grateful that Bristol’s business community got behind our first Kennel Break and supported us. We were so glad to see participants had a great time doing it too – especially their colleagues who jumped at the chance to keep their bosses locked in for as long as possible.

“We were delighted to be participate in Kennel Break” said Stuart Choak, Managing Director of Calibro Consultants. “Whilst I wasn’t so thrilled at being locked up for the day, I am wholly in support of this fantastic cause, which does so much to help pets here in Bristol!”

Sarah Howe, Consultant Solicitor, FCILEx and Licensed Conveyancer at legal firm Setfords said: “I enjoyed taking part in Kennel Break, with animal welfare being very important to me and having two fur babies of my own, I couldn’t think of a better cause to support.’

All donations raised from Kennel Break 2023 will go towards continuing Bristol A.R.C.’s life-saving work today, tomorrow and into the future. If you are a business who’d like to take part in the next Kennel Break – get in touch with the team today – fundraising@bristolarc.org.uk