Animal welfare charity the Bath Cats and Dogs Home has launched its Christmas campaign, A Home For Life, Not Just Christmas, urging people not to give pets as gifts this year.

The home, which looks after unwanted, neglected or mistreated pets, is bracing itself to work around the clock caring for festive feline and canine casualties, with December and January its busiest months.

The doors at Bath’s biggest animal charity will be open as normal from 11am to 4pm every day throughout the festive season, but will remain closed to the public on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Although a branch of the RSPCA, the home does not receive financial support from the organisation for the £1.5m required every year to keep it running, so relies on donations and fundraising from the local community.

Karen Ethier, animal care and welfare delivery manager, said: “It doesn’t matter how often we say it, people still go out and buy cute-looking puppies and kittens as presents, only then to discover they grow into full-size pets with a healthy appetite, exercise on the brain and a vet’s bill the size of your overdraft.

“For example, we have a Staffordshire bull terrier called Milly who was born on Christmas Day and brought in to us for rehoming shortly afterwards.

“She was so neglected and stressed she came in to us with no fur. Now 12 months on, her fur has completely grown back and she’s back on the mend.

“Giving an animal a good home is an act of kindness and a lifetime of commitment and not an act of kindness that’s exclusive to just one day of the year.”

The Bath-based charity, in existence since 1937, always runs at full capacity on a one-in-one-out basis, which means every penny counts and kennel and cattery spaces are at a premium.

To donate call Bath Cats and Dogs Home on (01225) 787334 or visit www.bcdh.org.uk/donate_today