TO mark a week since the horrific fire which killed more than 60 dogs at Manchester Dogs Home, staff are calling on dog lovers to ‘hug a hound’ at 7pm this evening and post their selfies on the @manchdogs Twitter page. 

A spokesman added: "The staff and trustees of Cheshire Dogs’ Home would like to send a huge and heart-felt thank you to the public, one week after the devastating fire at our sister site Manchester Dogs’ Home.

"During this past week we have been overwhelmed, deeply touched and humbled by the incredible response from the public in Cheshire and beyond.

"We have received so many donations, offers of practical support, words of kindness and messages of hope - from individuals, families, businesses and other charities - all of which have helped us tremendously in this very difficult period.

"One week on from the fire, we continue to mourn the loss of dozens of our dogs – vulnerable animals whom our staff and volunteers had known, loved and cared for.

"The loss of one dog in this way would have been terribly sad; to have lost this many, and in such a way, is incomprehensible.

"In the coming weeks we will be ensuring that our members of staff have all the emotional and psychological support they need going forwards.

"The majority of the surviving dogs were transported from Manchester to our Grappenhall site on the night of the fire; many of them are now being fostered in loving homes, while others are receiving intensive rehabilitation treatment following the traumatic events of last Thursday.

"At this point we would again like to commend our staff and volunteers, who have worked tirelessly over the past week and continue to do so.

"We are incredibly fortunate as an organization to have so many dedicated staff and a very dynamic group of volunteers old and new.

"To mark a week’s passing since the fire, we invite dog lovers everywhere to ‘hug a hound’ at 7pm this evening to celebrate the love between humans and their dogs."

Will you be getting involved?