I'm being a speedy blogger today (all that time on Twitter must count for something after all!), as this afternoon I'll be getting a chance to visit one of our newest centres in Harefield, West London. As a relative newbie to Dogs Trust (one month yesterday!), it's a wonderful opportunity to see what we at HQ are supporting. On a daily basis, our dedicated volunteers across the country rescue, rehome, neuter, microchip and care for many dogs, with over 16,000 passing through our doors in the last year alone.

It would be wonderful to see this number decrease, of course. As with all charities, we seek the day we can put ourselves out of a job! Until then, though, it's heartening to know that we're expanding and able to deal with more and more of the estimated 100,000+ stray dogs in the UK and offer them an escape from the euthanasia policies of many organisations.

In the meantime, new and established dog owners are contacting us all the time about Dog Control Orders. Some local authorities have turned to us for advice and are operating an exemplary policy - others are enforcing draconian bans and restrictions which are causing us concern. For more information, check out the Dogs Trust blog, and please do let us know your experiences. We can be instrumental in changing the law by putting pressure on the Government, but we need your voices to be united with ours in order to make this possible.

Ah well, not so speedy after all - when I get started, nothing shuts me up....