Despite the massive increase in the demand for dogs over the past 12 months, Dogs Trust, Ireland’s largest dog welfare charity revealed today they received 172 requests from people looking to surrender their dog after Christmas this year.
The charity received 89 phone calls and 83 emails from members of the public looking to relinquish their dogs from December 26th, 2020 to 31st January 2021. For the second year running, the most common reason provided was the person being unable to manage their dog’s behaviour.
Becky Bristow, Executive Director of Dogs Trust Ireland said: “We are saddened to see so many people struggling with their dogs’ behaviour and urge all dog owners to attend training classes, such as our online Dog School classes. Many issues can be prevented when they first arise, with simple training techniques, but often by the time people contact us, they are at their wits end and want to relinquish their dog.”
Sadly, the charity saw another dog tied to their Rehoming Centre gates over the Christmas period. Blitzen, a male crossbreed was abandoned late in the evening, attached to a long piece of rope. This resulted in him becoming entangled and panicked, creating a dangerous situation for Blitzen and the staff who had to free him.
Karla Dunne, Head of Operations at Dogs Trust Ireland explained: “We are thankful that most people are continuing to contact us as the last thing we want to see is more dogs like Blitzen being abandoned. We are here to help and encourage people to get in touch as soon as they begin to have difficulty with their dog. While we are unable to take in every surrender request, we will do our very best to help.”
Dogs Trust recognises that there are genuine cases of people needing to rehome their dogs, so they have published some helpful advice about responsibly rehoming your dog. For more information, please visit www.dogstrust.ie/help-advice/advice-for-owners/help-i-can-t-look-after-my-dog
Pic Credit: Fran Veale
