The sad eyes and drooping ears sum up how this young mongrel feels about being locked in a cage.

Who can resist these two loving young puppies? These happy young chappies face a future which hangs in the balance. Unless they are found a home in the next few weeks, they will probably have to be put to sleep, and that's where you can help. Can you take one of these puppies in the arms of RSPCA kennel maid Gwyneth Jackson, and give it a good home?

The two dogs in our photographs have had their lives reprieved by the Burnley Express, but their reprieve may only be short-lived unless someone can find a home for them. There are 60 or so stray, unwanted and ill-treated dogs at the RSPCA Animal Shelter in Altham, where the death sentence hangs daily over the animals. Shelter manageress Miss Norma Rothwell and her two staff are doing a marvellous job of dealing with the ever-increasing problem of abandoned pets. But the 50 kennels provided are occupied by nearly 60 dogs, so some of the dogs face death unless they are claimed within seven days of arrival.

Obviously the shelter is overcrowded. In one week alone this month, more than 30 dogs were brought in from the Burnley, Padiham, Nelson, Colne and Clitheroe areas. And there is still more to come. For February is the month when those little bundles of fun, which were bought as Christmas presents, begin to grow and become unwanted. Many of the dogs now being taken to the centre are of larger breeds, which makes Miss Rothwell wonder whether the high price of pet food is making it impossible for some owners to keep on feeding their pets.

Miss Rothwell said, "We have to keep all strays for seven days by law, but after that it is up to us whether we keep them and try to find a home, or have them put to sleep. A lot depends on kennel space and at the moment we are rather busy. We always try to find the dogs a home. Many of them have been treated harshly and they deserve a new start, but sometimes it is necessary to have them put to sleep."

To make sure the dogs do have a new start, anyone wishing to adopt one has to fill in a questionnaire, and volunteer helpers visit their homes to make sure the dog is being well kept. Anyone who wants to offer a good home to one of the dogs can visit the shelter, which is near Huncoat railway station, seven days a week.