Bedlington Terrier Rescue was set up by the late Barbara Butcher MBE and Phyllis Cooper in 1976 as a private organisation. Gradually others joined the ranks as Area Coordinators and they all worked well together with Barbara as Group Coordinator.

Although BTR was not run by any breed clubs, as Barbara was joint editor of the Bedlington Terrier Association news bulletin she always included a progress report of BTR and published the accounts.

After Barbara Butcher’s death in 2004, Frances Fuller was asked to take over the running of the group, which she agreed to do and continues as Director today.

Bedlington Terrier Rescue as a whole, have the welfare of rescue Bedlington Terriers and their crosses at the top of the list of priorities and now, some 44 years later the BTR has rehomed over 1000 dogs and work as a strong team of volunteers.

All of the Coordinators are experienced Bedlington owners and three members of the BTRF team are qualified modern reward based trainers / behaviourists, so we are fortunate to have a dedicated team of people more than qualified to help and advice for adoption and rehoming of Bedlingtons as well as offering behavioural / training backup and support when needed.

The needs of the new owners are just as important too. We try to match the dog to a new owner by asking them to complete a Home Enquiry Form as well as agree to a home check / interview and the owner handing the dog over to rescue also has to complete a Surrender History Form and BTRF will arrange a full behavioural assessment, so that we have as much background on the dog being rehomed. Where possible we always try to rehome dogs in the local area to help reduce the stress of driving them long distances around the country.

Once adopted, the BTRF then offers back up and support to the new family which may include veterinary care or training / behavioural support.

Just before Christmas in 2017, BTR attained its charity status and became The Bedlington Terrier Rescue Foundation. A status we are very proud to have achieved and we look forward to taking BTRF from strength to strength.

We also plan to raise the profile of the breed, which sadly is now on the Kennel Club's At Watch list, to help and advise on the care and welfare and to interact with pet Bedlington owners and raise the awareness of Copper Toxicosis, a disease that can be present in the Bedlington Terrier.