Birmingham Dogs Home will return to PATS this year thanks to the continued generosity and support of The Animal People Recruitment Company. Over the past five years, the partnership has raised more than £22,000 for the charity, while also opening doors to businesses across the pet industry and creating valuable opportunities for further support, donations and partnerships.
For the second year running, The Animal People is funding and donating the majority of its PATS stand to Birmingham Dogs Home, giving the charity a valuable platform at one of the UK pet industry’s key events and an opportunity to build relationships with businesses that could make a real difference to the dogs in its care.
The partnership goes far beyond providing space at the show, with The Animal People supporting Birmingham Dogs Home for the past five years through generous donations while also using its extensive network and strong relationships across the pet industry to champion the charity, raise its profile and introduce the team to businesses that could offer further support through corporate partnerships, sponsorship, fundraising and product donations.
The impact of those introductions was demonstrated on an incredible scale at PATS last year.
Through the support of The Animal People team and their relationships with clients, candidates and friends across the industry, more than £45,000 worth of products were donated to Birmingham Dogs Home following the show.
Those donations provided invaluable support to a charity caring for homeless and vulnerable dogs across the West Midlands, helping Birmingham Dogs Home direct more of its funds towards the day-to-day care, veterinary treatment, rehabilitation and rehoming of the dogs that need it.
This year, the two organisations hope to build on that success by connecting Birmingham Dogs Home with even more businesses and demonstrating the difference the pet industry can make when organisations come together for a shared purpose.
Chris Whatling, MD & Co-founder of The Animal People Recruitment Company and Ambassador for Birmingham Dogs Home, said: “Supporting Birmingham Dogs Home over the past five years has always come from a very genuine place for us. We work within the pet industry every day, connecting brilliant people and businesses, and we are in a fortunate position where those relationships can also be used to create opportunities for a charity we care deeply about.
“Last year we wanted to do much more than simply give Birmingham Dogs Home some space on our stand. We wanted to bring them right into the heart of PATS, introduce them to the industry and help businesses understand how they could get involved.
“To see those conversations and relationships result in more than £45,000 worth of donated products was incredible and something our whole team is enormously proud of.
“That is exactly what events like PATS can achieve. Exhibitions shouldn't just be about selling stand space or doing business; they can bring an industry together, create meaningful partnerships and use the collective power of that industry to improve animal welfare.
“We're incredibly proud to fund and share our PATS presence with Birmingham Dogs Home again this year and we'll be doing everything we can to introduce them to even more businesses and opportunities.”
The Animal People Recruitment Company specialises in recruitment across the pet and animal health industries and has built its reputation around connecting people and organisations across the sector. Its support of Birmingham Dogs Home reflects a wider belief that those relationships can be used not only to strengthen businesses, but to support causes working directly to improve the lives of animals.
For Birmingham Dogs Home, which relies on the generosity of its supporters to continue caring for homeless dogs, having an established industry partner actively opening doors has been invaluable.
Sophie Evans, Corporate Partnerships Officer at Birmingham Dogs Home, said: “We simply could not have achieved what we did at PATS last year without Chris and The Animal People team. They didn't just give us space on their stand; they gave us a platform, championed our charity and actively introduced us to people and businesses they knew could help.
“The £45,000-plus worth of products we received was phenomenal, but the impact of their support goes much further than that. It has helped us build new relationships within the pet industry and opened conversations that we may never have had the opportunity to have otherwise.
“The amount of time, energy and genuine passion Chris and his team put into supporting Birmingham Dogs Home is incredible. They've been by our side for five years now, and we are enormously grateful that once again they are investing in our charity and giving us such a prominent presence at PATS.
“For a charity like ours, partnerships like this are incredibly important. It's not simply about what one company can donate; it's about somebody believing in your work enough to introduce you to their network and encourage others to get behind you too. That's exactly what Chris and his team have done for us.”
Birmingham Dogs Home has been caring for homeless and vulnerable dogs for more than 130 years from its centres in Birmingham and Wolverhampton. The charity cares for more than 220 dogs at any one time across its services and faces annual veterinary costs of more than £400,000, making support from businesses and partners across the pet industry invaluable in helping Birmingham Dogs Home continue its work.
Both organisations are now encouraging businesses attending PATS to come and meet the teams, learn more about Birmingham Dogs Home and discover the many ways the pet industry can use its expertise, products, people and platforms to support dogs in need.
