Ho No No: An Update

Thank you to each and every one of you that has sent a card to Harrods or other retailers to spread the message about our Ho No No campaign. So far over 800 cards have been sent in just one week. We know that a few people have received responses from Harrods about the care that they take in selling puppies, and have a few comments to make about this:

While we know that Harrods does have high standards of care for the animals in the Pet Kingdom, we still believe it is completely unnecessary, in this day and age, to sell puppies in a retail environment, whatever time of year. It is not essential for animals to be sold in-store. We would always advocate that puppies should be seen interacting with their mother and a reputable breeder knows that, given the choice, a home environment plays a significant part in raising well-socialised puppies.

If Harrods was to stop the sale of puppies it would send a powerful message to smaller retailers and local pet shops that this is not an appropriate way to sell a dog. It is possible through the Ho No No campaign to choose an alternative retailer to send your card to if you consider that they present a more urgent issue.

We thank everyone who has been helping us put pressure on Harrods to lead the way in ending this practice. To join the campaign, and send a FREE card today, please see http://bit.ly/HoNoNo

Ho No No! Again!

Ho No No – Please support our Christmas campaign!

We told you about Ho No No earlier this week but wanted to give you an update and ask you again to please help us. We also wanted to give you a bit more background. This year the campaign has had many strands, all with the ultimate aim of stopping puppies being bought as Christmas presents. Our two pronged approach targets both sellers and buyers.

To target the sellers we are trying to encourage pet shops not to sell puppies at this time of year, just as we stop rehoming during the festive period. The biggest of these ‘shops’ is the world famous store Harrods. Part of the Ho No No campaign is to send thousands of cards to Harrods to persuade them to stop selling puppies this Christmas, if we can convince them to stop then persuading other pet shops to do the same should be easy.

But we can’t do any of this without your help! Send a card to Harrods FREE by going to http://greetingcards.dogstrust.org.uk/ . There is a registration form to fill in but we can assure you its very quick, you won’t get loads of spam from us and it will mean the world to us and to the puppies that will have a better home as a result.

Every year we remind people that ‘a dog is for life, not just for Christmas’ and provide reasons why getting a dog at Christmas is not a good idea. Despite this, a third of all children put a puppy on their Christmas wish list and more than one in six parents say they would buy a dog as a Christmas gift if their child asked for one!*

Our Ho No No campaign targets buyers by reminding them that buying a dog online is not a great idea. Although there are many reputable sellers, we really want people to be aware of the dangers of buying an animal online and to understand why Christmas is not a great time to introduce a puppy into your home.

Dogs Trust friend Dermot O’Leary recorded these words of warning for us, isn’t he lovely!



Find our more about what Dogs Trust is doing this Christmas please visit our site http://www.adogisforlife.com/

*Dogs Trust survey carried out by One Poll in October 2011. 1,000 respondents of parents with children aged 3 to 16 years

Ho No No: Tell Harrods and pet shops to take puppies off the Christmas wish list!

Did you know that a third of children still ask for puppies for Christmas and that 1 in 6 parents say they'd bow to the pressure and get one?

This year, we are launching our “Ho, No, No” campaign, to target Harrods and other pet shops across the UK and encourage them to help prevent pet sales that are regretted once the festive season is over. 


We're asking everyone to send a FREE* Christmas Card to Harrods to ask them to stop selling puppies at Christmas. 

If you know someone thinking of getting a dog this Christmas, please help them find the right information so that they're properly prepared to give a dog a home for life by sharing the pages below:

- Dermot O'Leary's Christmas Message: Don't Buy a Puppy From the Internet

- How to rehome a dog from Dogs Trust

- Buying a dog from a reputable breeder

- Puppy care tips and advice

- You and Your Puppy iPhone / iPad App

- Responsible Dog Ownership

As we've been saying for 33 years: a dog is for life, not just for Christmas.

*Dogs Trust is funding the free cards. If you want to help our message go even further and help dogs at the same time, you can opt to pay for a card yourself. This will be much appreciated! If there's another vendor you think should get a card too, then please do send one - you'll have to pay a small cost for that. But even if you're not in the UK the free ones to Harrods can be sent without charge as they're posted from the UK.