Royal visit as Battersea expands ahead of festive rush

Battersea welcomed its royal patron the Duchess of Cornwall, who opened new facilities and heard how the charity had coped through lockdown.

The charity, which is marking its 160th anniversary this year, welcomed the duchess to officially open the Duchess of Cornwall Kennels at its Old Windsor centre in Berkshire.

Second visit

It was the duchess’ second visit to the centre since she became royal patron in February 2017, and Battersea staff were joined for the visit by volunteers who had temporarily fostered dogs and cats in their homes during lockdown.

The new kennel facilities feature a dedicated maternity area, a puppy paddock, outdoor paddocks and chill-out rooms, and will help the centre cope with the annual festive increase in unwanted puppies.

‘Vital work’

Battersea chief executive Claire Horton said: “We are always thrilled to welcome our wonderful royal patron the Duchess of Cornwall to our centres to see first hand the vital work we are carrying out to help dogs and cats that need our help.

“Over recent weeks we have come to the rescue of a number of puppies whose owners have struggled to care for them, and in the coming months we anticipate a greater demand for our services from pet owners who have bought dogs and puppies during lockdown.

“Our focus is to provide these animals with the very best quality care while we seek new homes for them, and we are so incredibly grateful to Battersea’s generous donors who enable us to continue doing this.

“Thanks to their support we are now able to open these new facilities for our animals in what has been an exceptional and challenging year for all charities and rescue centres.”