THE redevelopment of a dog rescue centre at Porth is due to be officially unveiled.

St Francis Dogs Home in Trevelgue Road will celebrate the opening of the newly rebuilt kennels with a public open day on Saturday, January 17 between 10am and 3pm.

There are 10 replacement kennels plus two isolation kennels, each block having its own food prep space, which will enable the charity to re-home more dogs.

The redevelopment is designed for sustainability with insulated modular buildings, solar panels and low energy heating. The kennels, which meet DEFRA standards, aim to provide the best possible care for dogs needing specialist support or whilst awaiting foster placements.

The town crier will announce the official opening at 12 noon. Brief speeches from Anthony Kinder, chair of the trustees and Beverly Dobson, centre manager will be followed with ceremonial ribbon cutting by Jeremy Varcoe, who is the nephew of the original founder Nancy Bates.

The public open day includes fundraising activities throughout and there will be a refreshments van on site. Visitors can browse charity sale items, buy raffle tickets, bid in a silent auction, pick up a free car sticker and have the opportunity to dedicate a plaque on the memory wall.

St Francis will be aiming to recruit more volunteers, foster carers and donations to support the rescue centre expansion as well as encourage everyone who wants a dog to “adopt, don’t shop.”

A spokesperson for St Francis said: “Everyone in the dog loving community in Cornwall is invited to view the redeveloped site. The new kennels that complement the established fostering programme, which currently cares for 24 dogs and has homed 216 dogs since 2022.

“Demand for dog rescue and rehoming is consistently high. Adding the kennels to fostering means that the charity can increase the numbers it helps to try to meet that demand.