STAFFORDSHIRE bull terriors take more than 20 per cent longer on average to find homes than other breeds at Blue Cross rescue centres, making them the most commonly unwanted dogs.
The pet charity believes Staffies are unfairly dismissed, with nearly half the people surveyed using words like ‘aggressive’ and ‘frightening’ and ‘ugly-looking’ to describe the dog breed.
However, 80 per cent of people acknowledge the reason for the breed’s bad behaviour is due to irresponsible and neglective owners, not the dogs themselves.
Staff at the Catshill centre hope to convince the public to give these dogs a chance.
Bromsgrove’s Blue Cross manager Neil Edwards said: “I wonder if they were in a ‘different costume’, would they be given an more of a chance to show their true personality?”
And the charity has done just that with its latest campaign – using face-in-hole picture boards to show what Staffies would look like as other breeds.
Visit www.bluecross.org/bromsgrove for more information on how the Blue Cross aims to improve the reputation of bull terriors, and to see a gallery of photos.
Four-hundred unwanted and abandoned staffies are rescued by the Blue Cross every year.
One of those strays, two-year old Daffodil, has been waiting 200 days for a new home, which is more than six times longer than the average dog.
4th Jun, 2026
