A WEST Devon animal rescue centre is celebrating the news that they have been awarded a much-needed £15,000 grant, to help them make improvements to their re-homing centre and help give their dogs the best chance of finding a happy home.

The Margaret Green Animal Rescue Centre at Wingletang, near Tavistock, is home to 34 dogs and is using the grant to go towards funding a dog rescue and rehabilitation unit, which will help rescued dogs on their way to their forever homes.

The grant comes from Pedigree Feeding Brighter Futures, an initiative that assists re-homing centres by providing much needed grants and food and also works to raise awareness of the UK's issue of dog abandonment.

This year Pedigree Feeding Brighter Futures has awarded more than £100,000 to members of the Association of Dog and Cats Homes (ADCH), to help them improve conditions for dogs when they need to be cared for the most — from new kennel improvements and training facilities to the creation of new exercise and socialisation areas.

The Wingletang centre is managed by Alan and Niki Ging.

Alan said: 'Our new rehabilitation room will make a huge difference for the dogs at Wingletang.

'It will provide nervous dogs with a safe and warm environment to spend time with staff and volunteers and it means the dogs can have some time away from the kennels even when the weather is awful.

'We'd like to thank Pedigree for helping us improve the lives of our rescued dogs.'

CEO of Margaret Green Animal Rescue Geoff Wright said: 'On behalf of our animals, staff and volunteers, thank you Pedigree Feeding Brighter Futures for presenting us with this grant.

'The space will offer a vital area for giving our animals some time-out from the kennels and cattery as well as providing an ideal place for training and rehabilitation to take place.

'Thank you for giving us this opportunity to enhance the lives of our rescue animals while they are in our care and helping us give them the best possible chance of finding their forever home as quickly as possible.'

George Hillman, senior brand manager at Pedigree, said: 'At Pedigree we believe that all dogs should have good nutritious food and a happy loving home.

'This is why we're committed to providing rescue centres across the country with food and monetary grants, to help them make vital changes to give dogs a better chance of finding their forever home.

'The level of entries we had this year as part of the Pedigree Feeding Brighter Futures campaign was fantastic and it goes to show how much our work is valued by the charities, as the grant money enables them to provide better care for the dogs who need it most.'

In 2014 Pedigree also donated nearly 700,000 meals to rescue dogs in re-homing centres through the Pedigree Feeding Brighter Futures programme.

Food donations don't just help centres by freeing up funds for other projects, they also play a vital role in rehabilitating the dogs in their care, as a consistent good quality diet allows dogs to recover and be re-homed quicker.