Sew a bandana for a rescue dog in need

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home is appealing for nimble-fingered animal lovers to help dress up their dogs in bright and beautiful bandanas with a noble purpose.

Find out the benefits of adopting a rescue dog.

Why donate bandanas?

With over 5,000 dogs a year in their care, many animals become stressed in the kennel environment. To help alleviate their stress, staff at Battersea have taken to spraying calming scents around the dogs in their kennels. The benefit of the bandanas is that the fabric can be sprayed with the soothing scents, allowing the smell to stay with the dogs as they move around their kennels. 

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home are now calling for bandana donations to help the many dogs they are caring for. Bandanas can be bought and donated or sewn using the free sewing pattern available on the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home website, and can be made in any size — the template available attaches to the dog's collar so it can fit any dog, and the cotton can be in any colour or pattern.

Other donations

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home cares for around 300 dogs and 220 cats at a time, with the average stay for a dog being 36 days. That's a lot of potentially stressed animals looking for some relief while they wait for adoption. Battersea also accepts knitted blankets and toys for their dogs and cats.

Shop-bought items can also benefit the animals. Scratching posts, beds and treats are all vital for the work carried out, and even some more unusual items such as wind chimes, CD players and old children's Wendy houses are needed - all of which help to create a good and stimulating environment for dogs and cats. For a full list of donations they are looking, plus patterns for the bandanas, knitted blankets and toys, please see the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home website.

Donations can be dropped off or mailed to any of Battersea's three sites in London, Brands Hatch or Old Windsor.

Find out other ways you can sew and knit for charity.