Festive fallout leaves rescues reeling
08 Jan 2009 08:01
HUNDREDS of dogs and puppies are being abandoned throughout the UK – either because they were unwanted Christmas presents or because their families are struggling as the credit crunch bites.
Dogs Trust alone had a total of 80 dogs handed in to the charity’s 17 rehoming centres between December 24 and 31.
“Sadly, we expect this figure to increase significantly as the novelty of having a dog for Christmas wears off and owners realise the responsibility and commitment involved in owning a dog,” said a spokesman.
Tied to the gates
Although the charity does not rehome dogs over the festive period to try to prevent people buying them as gifts, there were still puppies abandoned as unwanted presents. A dog was brought into its Newbury centre even before Christmas. It had been bought online as a Christmas gift for a young teenager by her father.
“Unfortunately, as the mother worked full-time and the daughter would be at school all day the family was unable to keep the dog,” the spokesman said.
“It was a heart-wrenching case of the daughter very reluctantly having to give up the dog as it was a completely unsuitable Christmas present.”
Shortly afterwards a ten-week-old Labrador, Theo, was handed in to the West Calder centre in Scotland on Christmas Day.
“This in itself is very unusual as the novelty of a puppy usually lasts slightly longer than a few hours,” the spokesman said. “As Theo was so young, members of the centre staff took him home with them over the Christmas period so he didn’t get too scared.”
On Boxing Day two abandoned puppies were taken to the Bridgend centre after being found at the side of the road. They are about three months old and believed to be German Shepherd crosses.
“They were very frightened and underweight and we don’t believe they would have survived much longer by the busy road with the temperature dropping overnight,” the spokesman said.
Last week, a five-month-old dog was tied to the gates of the Bridgend centre and left. Fortunately, staff found it shivering in the dark before they left for the day.
Dogs Trust is keeping a close eye on the situation at all its centres and is providing advice for any owners concerned about money.
Elsewhere, dog wardens in Derbyshire say there has been a sharp rise in the number of animals abandoned. They believe many older dogs have been dumped to make way for new puppies or because of the recession. In 2007 wardens picked up 21 dogs in December, but in the same month last year the number rose to 48.
And in Gloucestershire, animal rescue centres are full. A spokesman for Cheltenham Animal Sanctuary said the blame could be laid at the door of the economic downturn.
“Owners are struggling to cope,” she said. “We now have a waiting list of dogs who need to be taken in. As soon as a dog finds a home I phone the next person to say there’s a space available. Other centres around here are full as well.”
In the lead-up to Christmas, Birmingham Dogs Home was receiving up to 17 dogs a day compared to ten a day last year.
As well as the increased numbers of strays, the home has had a massive influx in the number of people calling the centre struggling to take care of their dogs.
Alayna Warner, a fundraiser at the home said: “Owners don’t always give reasons. One man’s house was being repossessed and he had to rehome his dog.”
In October, 43 dogs were brought to the centre compared to 12 during the same period the previous year. The charity never turns dogs away, but with more animals coming in to the home, which has 145 kennel spaces available, there are not enough people coming forward to adopt them.
Dumped
Staff at RSPCA centres nationwide have also been busy taking in unwanted animals.
A Dalmatian left tied to the gates of the charity’s Hillingdon centre in London was one of a growing number of dogs being dumped. The centre has been so inundated that it is now having to pay outside kennels to care for some dogs.
The number of dogs being abandoned in south Essex has also rocketed. It is believed that animals are deliberately being let loose by owners struggling to pay for them. The number of homeless dogs has nearly doubled from 85 between April and October last year to 144 this year.
Ireland is having its problems too. Hundreds of family pets are being abandoned in the Irish Republic because of the recession putting enormous pressure on overcrowded animal rescue centres.
In Wexford, the county council has had to rent extra kennel space because the local pound is full.
One SPCA centre in the county, unable to cope with the numbers of stray and abandoned dogs being handed in, has had to close its doors to new arrivals. The story is the same in Wicklow, a neighbouring county.
“It’s not ‘the Christmas pet thing’ – it’s the credit crunch and the recession,” said Gina Hetherington, founder of Paws Animal Rescue which has centres in Tipperary and Kildare.
“A lot of people are emigrating because of rising unemployment and foreigners who have been working here are going back home. They are not prepared to foot the cost of taking their pets with them – maybe because they can’t afford it.
“In addition, because of the economic climate people are downsizing to apartments or renting houses, and they too are getting rid of their pets. It’s just madness at our centres now as we struggle to cope with the increased numbers.”
In Galway the SPCA centre ‘is stretched to breaking point’ because of the record numbers being surrendered.
In Cork 1,000 dogs have been housed by the local SPCA, an increase of more than 100 on the previous year’s figure.
At an animal welfare centre in Leitrim almost 60 dogs are waiting in the hope of being rehomed. The fear is that that in the current climate many will never find a new home and will have to be put down.
Gratitude
In 2007, according to official statistics, 12,500 dogs including puppies and pedigree breeds were put down in the Irish Republic – the equivalent of 34 dogs being destroyed every day.
The ISPCA has expressed its gratitude to Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith who has announced 1.25 million euros in funding for animal welfare groups.
However, the money has to be shared out between 110 organisations.