Woman With 106 Dogs Has Bankrupted Herself

To many of us, living with hundreds of dogs sounds like an absolute dream, but a new Channel 5 documentary looks into the reality of being obsessed with having pets.

The Woman With 106 Dogs tells the story of a woman who became so focused on taking in animals in need that she has bankrupted herself.

Credit: Channel 5

According to producers, it's estimated that there are about 71 million pets in UK households, but only 5 percent of British dog owners own more than two dogs.

Tamara Lloyd is one of them. She shares her home with 106 dogs, but is close to running out of donations that she needs to keep the animals.

She runs The Alternative Animal Sanctuary in Lincolnshire, taking in dogs that have nowhere else to go. Some of the pets she accepts are ones with serious behavioural problems, including dogs that have bitten people.

Dog lovers will be able to sympathise with Tamara, who has said that she finds it completely impossible to turn an animal away, fearing that they will be put to sleep if she doesn't accept them.

Although it might seem like a lot, up until recently, she had much more than that - her livestock included horses and cats as well.

According to Lincolnshire Live, her sanctuary was raided by the RSPCA in May, but Tamara said she only took them in because the RSPCA didn't have room for them, and she couldn't turn them away.

Credit: Channel 5

She explained: "Nobody else would take them, I was the only one. The dogs had been biting, the horses can't be ridden. I'd try to re-home as many as can be, but the reason I take them is because they're not re-homeable in the main, which is why they then stay."

At the time, a spokesperson for the RSPCA said: "Sixty-one cats, 14 pigs, five dogs and four horses, plus a dependent foal were seized and are now in the care of the RSPCA.

"These animals will be cared for by the RSPCA while enquiries continue."

The Channel 5 programme also shows a pensioner running a car boot sale to provide for the 30 cats she owns, as well as a litter of puppies in the home of a reclusive woman who has 34 former show dogs - and a couple with nearly 100 pets.

The Woman with 106 Dogs will be shown on Channel 5, Sunday at 7pm.