EVERY day vulnerable dogs are kicked out onto the streets of Wakefield by their once loving owners to face an uncertain future.

About six abandoned animals are picked up by dog wardens and taken to Springfield Kennels uncertain of the life that awaits them.

Currently the kennels is home to about 60 dogs.

Kennel worker Lyn Golding said: "In 99 per cent of the cases it is never the dog's fault, it is down to the owners.

"We do get as many of the dogs as we can rehomed - some of them can go to homes locally but others can get sent all over the country."

But for some unwanted canines the harsh reality of being made homeless can result in being put to sleep by fatal injection.

Dogs are abandoned for a variety of reasons. In some cases the once-loved pets are simply no longer wanted by their owners, other times they are dumped because they become an inconvinence.

Some dogs are abandoned because their owners can no longer be bothered with caring for their pets, or they might struggle to pay spiralling vet bills.

But kennel staff said the cruellest reason is when a once cute puppy has grown old, and is no longer loved.

Miss Golding said: "It is worst, and the saddest, when it is an older dog that has been kicked out onto the streets."

Another reason for dogs being dumped is changing trends - a fate well-known by the staffordshire terrier breed.

Once these powerful dogs were the latest must-have male fashion accessory. But more recently the fad seems to have declined - and many of the dogs have been discarded and left to scavenge on the street.

Miss Golding said: "We do get a lot of staffy or staffordshire cross breeds. And almost every mongrel has a bit of staffy in them.

"But this breed of dog is the hardest to rehome."

Each dog brought to Springfield Kennels has to stay for eight days by law. After that time expires and every effort is made to find all the dogs a suitable home.

Claire Burns, who also works at the Ossett based kennels, said: "People who abandon the dogs are evil people. "