A staggering 118 animals at national RSPCA centres have been waiting more than 100 days for a new home – and one dog has been searching for her forever home for more than two years, as shocking new data reveals rescue animals are spending even longer in the charity’s care.
Dutch Shepherd dog Mia has now spent a record 700 days – almost two years – in RSPCA care, without being offered a forever home – highlighting the ongoing rehoming crisis across England and Wales.
Rescue staff have made the “heartbreaking and frustrating” admission that Mia is now the country’s most unwanted dog – despite her loving, kind and affectionate nature.
The RSPCA hopes her fortunes will soon change, as part of its annual Adoptober October rehoming drive.
Mia is one of 118* dogs, cats and other animals at RSPCA national rehoming centres that have been waiting for a new home for more than 100 days.
Mia – looked after by the RSPCA’s Southridge Animal Centre in Hertfordshire – is one of the RSPCA’s longest stay ‘residents’. Having just celebrated her fifth birthday in care, RSPCA staff are desperate to match Mia up with a loving, experienced owner who can provide this lovely dog with the suitable, forever home she has been waiting for.
The average length of time dogs, cats and rabbits are having to wait before someone adopts them has risen by more than one third (31%) over the past five years (from 31.7 days in 2019 to 41.4 days in 2023), according to new data from the RSPCA released today. Consequently, many rehoming centres are bursting at the seams and unable to take in new animals – with many in costly emergency boarding centres while they wait for space.
Many RSPCA rehoming centres and branches across England and Wales are now caring for pets that have been waiting for 100 days or more to be adopted. This exacerbates the rehoming crisis because while animals wait for a new home, it prevents a space opening up for another rescued pet to arrive at the rehoming centre.
One of the reasons the RSPCA has so many long-stay animals is that its 14 national centres prioritise animals rescued from cruelty and neglect. These are often the animals which are ‘hard to rehome’ as they need the most help with veterinary and behavioural care to rehabilitate them. These most vulnerable animals take time to recover from the cruelty and neglect they have experienced and often require a more experienced owner who can provide the ‘know-how’ and patience to continue the pet’s rehabilitation at home.
As of 3 October this year, a shocking 118 dogs, cats and other animals at the RSPCA’s 14 national animal centres alone were recorded as having already waited 100 days or more without being adopted. And that doesn’t include the charity’s 135 independently run branches – who are also looking after numerous ‘long stay’ animals who are sadly being overlooked by potential adopters.
Karen Colman, who leads the RSPCA team finding places for rescued animals, said: “We are appealing to potential adopters to – where possible – consider rehoming pets which have spent a particularly long time waiting for their forever home at our centres.
“We have so many absolutely wonderful dogs, cats and rabbits who through absolutely no fault of their own are sitting at rescue centres waiting patiently for the next chapter of their lives to begin. That chapter cannot start without the public coming forward to offer them homes.
“As well as the lucky animals who tend to fly out of our centres into new homes, there are others who have more specific rehoming requirements because of the environments and conditions they were subjected to before being rescued.
“Very sadly, these are the animals we find most challenging to find new homes for.
“We are especially keen for those people with higher levels of pet-owning experience and patience to step forward and consider adopting one of our more ‘hard to rehome’ animals, because the situation has reached a crisis point.
“Spaces at our rehoming centres are like gold dust. The longer rescue animals remain unadopted, the longer others have to wait for a space at our rehoming centres.
“There’s a log-jam that prevents another newly rescued animal from getting a rehoming place. We currently have hundreds of animals in our care forced to wait in temporary and emergency boarding accommodation because pets already at our rehoming centres are not being adopted fast enough.
“Our rehoming centres are crying out for people who have the desire, dedication, time, facilities and willingness to step forward and offer to adopt our long stay animals. They can do this with the confidence that the RSPCA rehoming team will give them all the help, advice and support they need to make the animals transition from centre to home a positive one.”
Karen hopes the RSPCA’s annual Adoptober rehoming drive could finally provide the “rehoming moment” for long-stay Mia.
She added: “Mia is a heartbreaking example, as she is still waiting after 700 days. But there are many other pets that have been with us for 100 days or more and have still not been rehomed.
“While animals living in our rehoming centres are loved and cared for, it’s not the life we want to see for pets in the long-term. They all deserve a special home where they can be cherished and be part of someone’s family.”
Mia’s story
Mia became available for rehoming in November 2022 having spent her early life in a foster home as a tiny puppy.
She spent many months in kennels working with staff on a training plan, before beginning her search for a new home. Unfortunately, despite many press appeals and social media appeals, she has still not found a home.
Claire Hoffman, who takes care of Mia at the RSPCA’s Southridge Animal Centre, in Hertfordshire, said: “Mia had such a challenging start to life and, despite her early experience of awful living conditions, we’ve shown her a lot of love and she’s grown into a really lovely dog.
“With Mia’s fifth Birthday upon us, we know that there must be someone out there who will give her the best ever birthday present – the gift of a perfect new forever home.
“We believe that Mia might sadly be the RSPCA’s longest ‘available for rehoming’ animal and the country’s most unwanted dog – not a title any animal would like to have, or deserves!
“All of us at the centre find Mia’s situation really sad, heartbreaking and frustrating. We cannot understand why such a lovely, clever, deserving rescue dog has still not been adopted – we really hope things turn around for her during this Adoptober rehoming month.
“Her long wait makes me want to weep – because what more can we do to encourage people to adopt her?
“She is on our website, all over social media and we speak to everyone we can about her. She receives lots of views and we receive lovely kind comments from so many supporters but still no offers of a suitable home. We do all we can to give Mia her best life while in our care but it’s not the same as being in a home with a person or people to call her own”.
Mia is looking for an adult home, with space inside and out, and she may be able to live with a male dog. The most important factor in her placement is someone who has the desire to and is prepared to help her.
Staff say she is a “one in a million dog”Potential adopters can visit the RSPCA’s Find A Pet webpage to see all of the animals currently in the charity’s care who are looking for their perfect match. Supporters can also help the RSPCA continue rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming by donating online or calling their donation line on 0300 123 8181.
