Whether barking for attention or sticking their nose through the bars of their pens, pleading with their eyes, the message of the dogs at the SPCA animal shelter seems to be the same one: take me home.
Every day the SPCA receives about 30 phone calls, a third of which are reports of cruelty or pleas to rescue some four-legged furry creature.
The shelter's only inspector drives round the island trying to cope with the calls that range from picking up a litter of abandoned puppies to rescuing a wounded dog from the ruthless roads.
He is one of the seven dedicated staff members at the SPCA, four of whom are full-timers, and who spend their days dealing with paper work and fielding phone calls.
Cleaning and feeding the 150 animals, mostly dogs, takes up a chunk of the day and a lot of effort is put into match-making the people who walk in search of a pet with their dog-mate. In fact, so far, 88 dogs have been homed this year, SPCA president Barbara Cassar Torreggiani says as she looks around at the resident dogs. "How can you not love them?"
Contrary to what some people believe, the SPCA never puts down a healthy animal. The only animals put down are sick or dangerous ones that have no hope for adoption, Ms Cassar Torreggiani explains.
"One of the biggest problems faced by the SPCA is not being able to solve everybody's problems through lack of space and funds," she elaborates.
"Until it is understood what adopting an animal is all about and the responsibilities they bring, we are going to have a hard time. Animals need respect and we have to cope with a culture that is happier to dump an unwanted animal to fend for itself. We have to catch up with 20 years of burying our heads in the sand," Ms Cassar Torreggiani stresses.
Thankfully, she adds, the setting up of the Animal Welfare Directorate and the government's plans to open an animal welfare centre are a step in the right direction.
A few years ago the government gave the SPCA land in Ta' Qali, where the welfare centre is planned, to build a bigger sanctuary. However, plans are on hold as funds for the construction are lacking. The association has an annual budget of €110,000 and the government funds a fifth of the sum. However, given that the budget has not changed in decades, it barely covers costs anymore.
Ms Cassar Torreggiani adds that the government chips in because the SPCA helps manage the stray population which, apart from being a risk to people, is also a health hazard to itself.
"The SPCA can't pick up all the strays but the national neutering programme would be perfect to cut down the numbers," she says.
The national neutering campaign, funded by the government, started last year with neutering in sanctuaries. Now, the SPCA is proposing to take a regional approach to tackle one area at a time, starting from Valletta.
As part of their fund-raising events, the SPCA will tomorrow be holding a Spring Fair at Palazzo Pariso, in Naxxar between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The invitation extends to all people and their pets and, apart from several games and attractions for children and adults, the palazzo will be hosting goats, rabbits, piglets and lambs in a petting corner.