‘A dog is for life, not Christmas’ – the iconic Dogs Trust slogan – turns 30 this year.

The charity’s chief executive Clarissa Baldwin dreamt up the famous motto in 1978 – when one in five of all dogs were given as gifts. Now that figure has plummeted to one in 50.

Take a festive trip around your local animal sanctuary and see what’s happening.

Are the proprietors finally seeing that the message is getting through?

Also, try your nearest pet store – or one of the so-called ‘puppy farms’ if you have one nearby – to see how Christmas is affecting them.