Staff at the Lower Draycot Animal Shelter have suspended the rehoming of an eleven-year-old lurcher named Barnaby after concluding that footage of him being ignored does more for the charity than footage of him being adopted.

The decision follows months in which the shelter posted regular videos of Barnaby looking out of his pen at visitors who walked past. Those videos drew more attention, more comments and more sharing than every adoption announcement the shelter has ever issued, including the ones with puppies. A single clip of Barnaby sighing was seen by more people than have visited Lower Draycot in its history.

Mrs Sandra Pell, the shelter's manager, said the figures had forced a rethink.

"When Barnaby finds a home, we get one nice picture and then nothing," she said. "When Barnaby does not find a home, the account grows, the donations come in, and people tag their friends under a video of him standing at the gate. It would be irresponsible to end that."

The postponement

A suitable family was identified earlier this month and has been told that the paperwork requires further review. The family has agreed to wait, and asked not to be filmed.

The shelter's social coordinator, Miss Doreen Fitch, now films Barnaby at set times each day: at breakfast, when the visitors arrive, and again at closing, when the lights go off in the corridor. Miss Fitch said Barnaby had adapted well to the schedule.

"He knows when the camera comes out," she said. "He does his best work near the fence."

Under the new arrangement, visitors are directed past Barnaby's pen on their way to the exit. A sign near the gate reads: "If a member of staff asks you to say his name sadly, please do."

One visitor, Miss Carol Hendy, said she had come to the shelter after seeing Barnaby online and had left without adopting him, as instructed.

"I wanted to take him home," she said. "But a lady explained that me taking him home was worth less than me crying in front of his pen. So I did that instead. There was a camera."

What happens next

Mrs Pell said the postponement would be reviewed each quarter, and that the shelter had already identified two other dogs who were not doing well with visitors and might be worth developing.

She rejected the suggestion that Barnaby might be better off in a home.

"The home gets one dog," she said. "The camera gets us a following. Barnaby is doing more good where he is."

Barnaby could not be reached for comment, as he was being filmed.