A dog is for life and not just for Christmas is sadly a term that many don’t take on board when considering adding a dog to their family.
Rescues continually hammer home this message during the holiday season, with many rescues stopping adoptions during this period.
Today however Dogs Trust sadly reported that between the 26th December 2018 and 31st January 2019 they received 317 calls and 53 emails from members of public trying to give up their dogs.
That’s 370 people!
With the main reason being given that they no longer had the time to look after their dog anymore.
Sadly Dogs Trust operate at full capacity nearly all of the time, so they are unable to take in dogs that people are looking to surrender. It’s just a simple fact that there are too many dogs needing the help of rescues and while many no kill rescues operate in Ireland to help dogs find new homes, the strain that this puts on them can often be too much financially.
Just this week a box of 8 week old puppies Tayana, Tefi and Timoti and their mum, Tati were dumped outside the Dogs Trust rehoming centre in freezing conditions. The pups were lucky to survive the extreme temperatures however it seems that the mum Tati has a deformity in both her front legs which looks to be genetic – so could affect all of the puppies.
The 3 pups, plus mum, will be looking for their forever homes over the coming weeks, along with many other dogs in the care of Dogs Trust.
Karla Dunne, Head of Operations at Dogs Trust said;
“It’s so incredibly heart-breaking to see these beautiful creatures being discarded in this way with little thought for their safety or well-being. We’re just grateful that they were found and brought to us so that we can care for them here until they find loving homes. Thankfully all four of them are now thriving here and mum Tati can get the veterinary treatment she needs, but sadly many other puppies are not as fortunate and this could have been a completely different story had they not been found so quickly.”
With campaigns continuing every year to highlight the thought that people need to put into getting a pet at Christmas Suzie Carley, Executive Director said;
“It is extremely worrying that we continue to see a large number of dogs and puppies being surrendered or abandoned after Christmas. We have just marked the 40th anniversary of the phrase “A dog is for life, not just for Christmas®” and sadly this message is still as relevant today as when it was first coined by Dogs Trust all those years ago. Unfortunately Tati and her three pups are just some of the many dogs that are cruelly discarded after the Christmas period.
We would urge people who are thinking of taking on a new dog not to do so coming up to Christmas. A dog is a big commitment so if you are still thinking of getting a dog in the New Year we would ask the public to do careful research on where you are sourcing your dog from, research the breed of dog to suit your lifestyle and try to anticipate any major lifestyle changes such as an upcoming move, a new baby and consider how a dog may impact this before bringing one into your home.”
