Over 1,000 toys at Tower Bridge highlight pet separations
Each individual toy symbolised 20 pets given up by owners.
Animal charity Woodgreen Pets Charity has revealed the motive behind a large scale visual stunt at Tower Bridge last week.
More than 1,000 pet toys, including balls, ropes and plush toys, were left on the banks of the Thames on Thursday, 21 May 2026 next to busy Tower Bridge.
The charity explains that the 1,330 toys represented an estimated 26,565 dogs and cats which could have stayed with their owners, if there had been the right support. Each individual toy symbolised 20 pets.
The visual stunt forms part of Woodgreen’s campaign to redefine ‘rescue’, with the goal of focusing more on preventing unnecessary separations in the first place.
It follows research, surveying 1,000 British pet owners in 2026, which revealed that a third of UK pet owners had given up a pet at some point. Of these pet owners, 74 per cent of pet owners did not want to give up their pet.
Nearly half of pet owners were unaware of charities that offer support to help them keep their pets.
Woodgreen is one such charity offering support to pet owners to help them to stay with their pets during hardships.
One owner they helped is 72-year-old Lynne, from Cambridgeshire. Lynne and her husband, Graham, adopted Patterdale terrier Doug during the COVID pandemic.
However, when Graham passed away in 2024, Doug began to suffer dramatic behavioural changes.
Faced with grief and a challenging dog, Lynne reluctantly visit Woodgreen’s website to give Doug up. However, seeing that the charity offered support for her circumstances, she reached out for help.
Lynne was connected with Wendy, a behaviourist, to challenge Doug’s behavioural issues. Wendy produced a rigid training programme and a new diet for Doug, while providing Lynne with sympathy during difficult times.
Thanks to Wendy’s intervention, Lynne was able to keep Doug for a further two years before he passed away in April 2026.
Chris Bennett, head of community engagement at Woodgreen, said: “No one should have to part from a pet they love. We want to help people understand that there are more ways to rescue and rehoming doesn’t always have to be the answer.
“The 1,000+ toys at Tower Bridge symbolise the thousands of pets that didn’t have to be separated from their families last year, if only they’d had the support they needed. That’s why we work with pet owners in their homes, providing help and advice so that pets stay where they belong: safe, loved and at home. This is how we rescue.”
Image © Woodgreen Pets Charity
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
