It looks like things have changed a lot since l last dealt with the RSPCA.

I went to Leicester RSPCA for my dog Lucy. I called up and asked if they had any GSD pupps in as ours had passed away a month earlier. They said that they had 1 GSD/Lab X aged 10 weeks. They encouraged me to reserve her so l was first reserve.

That was on the Thursday - on Saturday hubby and l went up with both of my teens to see her. They plonked her in my arms and we comfirmed that we would love to have her and then she walked off!

Eventually my husband caught up with her and she said that sorry for the wait but she was trying to get permission for us to take Lucy home right then and to have a home check done later!

They microchipped her, signed her over to us and off we went. In 30 minutes we walked out with this 10 week old adorable puppy - a week before Christmas, l might add. All l had done was take a photo of our Kaspar who we had just lost, sitting on a path with a huge swathe of countryside behind him. We filled in the name and address of our vets (l suppose it was a good sign that l knew the vets number off by heart but could'nt remember our own doctors) and told them that he had been insured.

We never heard from anyone about having a home check and even when l rang up they said they would send someone out at some point!

I recently lost Lucy to age related kidney failure just 2 weeks after her 12th birthday. She was a gorgeous happy girl who we all loved to bits and she had a lovely life. However we could have been a horrible family that just wanted her for the cute apeal for our children as a Christmas present. To this day no one from the RSPCA has ever contacted us. Looks like things have changed a lot.