Charity 'top dog ' to lead nation in animal welfare

Birmingham Dogs Home chief executive, Giles Webber (pictured), has been elected as the new chair of the national animal welfare body, the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes (ADCH).

Leading at the helm of Birmingham Dogs Home since 2017, and as a former Trustee of ADCH for several years, Giles 's new role as chair will be to continue providing support to other rescue centres and guide the way for animal welfare organisations through the continuing challenges.

Giles will take over from Claire Horton CBE, who was also CEO for Battersea Dogs & Cats Home for 11 years.

Giles said: “I feel immensely honoured to have been chosen by our members to be ADCH Chair and hugely privileged to be in this role at such a critical time in our sector 's history.

Our members make ADCH the organisation that it is, and I believe that by working together for dogs and cats in the way that we do, the positive impact that we have will be ever greater. ”

The 129-year-old charity is now recognised as a leading voice in animal welfare for the Midlands, with a dedicated team working across two sites in Birmingham and Wolverhampton and caring for over 2,000 homeless dogs every year.

In a year of lockdowns, the team at Birmingham Dogs Home � like other rescue centres across the country � had to work extra hard to look after dogs for longer as rehoming operations were restricted and closure causes financial pressures.

ADCH came to the rescue by coordinating the distribution of emergency food supplies and Birmingham Dogs Home played a key role as a central hub to distribute pallets of food to charities nationwide so they could continue to provide essential care to rescued dogs and cats.