GERMAN shepherd Jesse is officially the 500th dog to be taken in by Worcester Animal Rescue Shelter - and she has already found a home with Malvern's newest landlord.

Stuart Pearson and his family have taken over the pet-friendly Railway Inn, Malvern Wells, and felt it needed its own mascot about the place.

As soon as they saw Jesse in her pen at Deblin's Green shelter they fell in love with her.

"We wanted a pub dog," said Stuart's mum Jackie. "When we saw her we knew we had found it and didn't look anywhere else."

The nine-year-old dog was given to the shelter by her previous owner, who was worried for the safety of her children after recent reports of dog attacks in the national press.

However, Jesse has never shown any aggressive tendencies. Stuart's girlfriend Laura Edwards said she was sure the Railway Inn's customers would adore the playful pet.

Shelter manager Ben Sargeant said the charity, which has now been running for five years, was pleased to have helped so many dogs and hoped that it could do the same for many more.

Staff have been busy trying to raise money for a cattery on the same site, but it costs between £60-70,000 a year just to run the kennels.

They are nowhere near the target.

"Costs are going up too much," said Mr Sargeant, adding that vets bills are often in the hundreds for each dog.

"We don't put them down if they're re-homable though," he said. Many of the dogs the shelter receives are Staffordshire bull terriers and collies. Sadly, the Staffies are often abandoned because owners buy them for their studded-collar macho image and then find they cannot look after them. The collies come from farms.

The shelter is also starting a new scheme where people can sponsor a kennel at the shelter for £40 a year, getting a regular newsletter about the dog living there.

To contact the shelter. call 01905 831651 or visit www.wars.org.uk