THE COMMUNITY has rallied round needy dogs this week, donating food and funds to help their causes.

More than £800 was donated to death row dog Teddy’s owners, to build a six foot high fence in their garden in Wroughton. This is part of measures to make the home safe should Teddy be allowed home and came from generous Facebook followers of Teddy.

The black and white dog, initially thought to be an American bulldog, was seized on February 5 under suspicion of being a banned breed. Following police examination, Teddy was reclassified as a pitbull type.

Despite a glowing report from police kennels and no history of attacks or aggressive behaviour, magistrates decided that Teddy could pose a risk to Thomas’ four-year-old daughter and handed Thomas a destruction order.

The happy-go-lucky dog sailed through a behavioural assessment but the courts must decide whether to uphold a destruction order placed on him.

“It’s absolutely amazing that followers of the group have once again dug deep and donated to our cause,” said owner Thomas Hook.

“This was the only thing standing in our way and now all I have to do is wait for the court date. Teddy is still very much in our thoughts every day, we so focused on getting him home.

“I was confident that we’d get there in the end and I’m so happy that things have worked out. This was the final hurdle before court and I am ready for it. We will do whatever it takes.”

Generosity has also been shown to charity SNDogs whose shed was broken into and bags of food intended for dogs that are being fostered was stolen.

The shed, which is on the drive of SN Dogs founder and trustee Jessie Bascombe in Pinehurst, was raided sometime between 5pm on May 17 and noon two days later.

A total of 10 bags, each weighing 20kg, was stolen.

Brands included Autarky, Field and Trial, Barking Heads and Burgess Sensitive.

Founder Jessie Bascombe said the charity had been overwhelmed with support since the heartless theft.

“The community has got behind us as always and we’ve had several bags of dog food being given to us," she said.

“We also had somebody who had a dog on trial which was sadly unsuccessful telling us to keep the £200 adoption fee because we needed it which was lovely.

This money will be used to buy a new shed with added security measures.

Dog food companies have also stepped in to replace the food lost.

“Barking Heads have offered to help us out with some food and Mars Pet Foods have told us they will donate a van full of food which is incredibly generous,” Jessie said.

“Once we have the food from them then we will be in a better situation than we were before the theft which takes the pressure off us.”

Anyone wanting to donate food can do it at Vets Klinic in Bridgemead, Drove Vets at Wroughton or Eastcott Vets in Old Town.

Visit www.sndogs.uk for more information on how to donate online.