JESTER the manic mongrel could be on his way to a new home before the end of the month thanks to Evening Advertiser readers.

Our appeal for volunteers to care for the excitable 10-month old on Wednesday led to several dog lovers contacting his carers, the Swindon Animal Sanctuary.

The sanctuary has now whittled the applicants down to a shortlist of three, and will be inspecting their homes for suitability in the coming week.

"We are very hopeful that out of these people, there will be somebody who turns out to be suitable," said sanctuary dog rescue volunteer, Heather Pickett.

"If we put anything in The Advertiser about dogs, we always get lots of responses."

The Sanctuary had been trying to house Jester, a mongrel with fox terrier blood, for almost three months. But every time a prospective owner called to see him, his natural friendliness and enthusiasm proved over-whelming.

The animal sanctuary then decided to narrow its search down to people with enough room in their houses for energetic Jester to run around in.

They also said they would prefer to give him to a family with no young children, and perhaps another dog to help calm him down.

Animal sanctuary chairman, Kate Rayner, said there was no reason why Jester could not settle down well in the right home.

"He's perfectly suitable for somebody who's got a bit of space to run in," she said.

"He's a bit busy, but he's got a good demeanour, and he's a lovely dog."