As their dogs played, owners donated to charity.

Excited dogs have been playing in a giant ball pit in London’s Victoria Park, created to raise funds for The Pet Food Partnership.

The large ‘bowl pit’, which was the size of two king-sized beds and in the shape of a dog’s food bowl, was set up in the park on National Spoil Your Dog Day (Thursday, 10 August).

While their pets played with the balls, their owners were encouraged to donate to FareShare to support The Pet Food Partnership, which provides pet food to help owners during the cost of living crisis.

The partnership is a collaboration between the animal charities Dogs Trust, Battersea, Cats Protection, pet insurance firm Petplan and FareShare, a national network that redistributes food to those in need.

The overall cost of pet care, including pet food, has risen sharply in the past year. A survey by Dog’s Trust in March found that 13 per cent of dog owners said that either could not afford, or are struggling to afford, the costs of owning a dog in the current economic climate.

Working with the pet food industry, The Pet Food Partnership has received more than 55,000 kg of pet food to redistribute.

Bella Von Mesterhazy, from Petplan, said: “We know how important nutrition is for good health, which is why we funded £100,000 towards The Pet Food Partnership to help struggling families feed their pets during the cost of living crisis and why we are now helping raise additional funds to support this important initiative.

We’re delighted to be teaming up with the UK’s leading animal charities and FareShare to help ensure no pet parent has to choose between feeding themselves and feeding their pet.”

Image (C) Petplan