Help Every Dog Follow The Yellow Brick Road to a Loving Home
- Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home launches heartwarming Winter Appeal and issues an urgent call for support
- The charity receives 40 calls per day with pet owners seeking support
- Nearly half of the animals accepted by the Home between January and October this year were strays
Animals at the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home don’t need a wizard to change their life – just love, care and much needed donations to the charity’s Winter Appeal.
‘Nowhere Like Home’ is the heartwarming new campaign from the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, inspired by the timeless story of finding your way back to where you belong. To bring the campaign to life, the charity has lovingly recreated a “homely” yellow brick road adaptation using household items that metaphorically leads surrendered dogs and cats to their forever home.
This year, the charity has faced a high number of animal admissions, with over 300 new arrivals between January and October 2025, coinciding with all-time high operational costs. This year the charity aims to raise £200,000, making this their biggest appeal ever, to help them continue to provide vital care for animals in need.
The Winter Appeal is critical, as it helps the charity sustain its operations and provide essential services. In the first 10 months of 2025 the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home rehomed or reunited 193 pets. They accepted 301 pets, 141 of these were strays, but they received 700 surrender requests which, unfortunately, demonstrates the urgent need for their services.
Between January and October this year, the Home provided 539,149 pet meals (the equivalent of the population of Edinburgh) to dogs and cats in East and Central Scotland to protect their loving homes. This is just 50% of the demand that they received.
The Home is appealing to members of the public, businesses and groups to get involved and show love and warmth to the animals who rely on its vital support by donating funds to their Winter Appeal.
Communities can also get involved – for example, by hosting a pet food drive, or organising a fundraising Christmas jumper day or even daring to face the cold dip challenge – all helping to raise vital funds and significantly helping pet owners from having to surrender their beloved pets.
Jamie Simpson, CEO at Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, said: “Every animal deserves to know the comfort and safety of a warm home. Your support with our Winter Appeal can help to change their story and make that happen for the dogs and cats in our care.
“The need for our services continues to escalate, and it’s through the kindness of our supporters that we’ve been able to assist both pet owners and their beloved animals. But demand is high, and we need to be able to help more dogs and cats.
“Every donation counts,” he continued. “£50 can help pay for lifesaving medicine and expert medical care for a neglected dog or cat. A donation of £100 could help pay for warmth, shelter and the care they need, and £20 could help pay for their chance to find their loving home.”
To support the Winter Appeal, please visit https://edch.org.uk/winterappeal call 0131 669 5331 or text COSY to 70058 to donate £10.
