Animal welfare charity Dogs Trust Ireland received over 170 requests from people looking to surrender their dog since December 26th last year.
While there has been a huge increase in the demand for dogs since the onset of the pandemic, Dogs Trust Ireland has still been inundated with requests from the public looking to surrender their pets.
According to officials, the charity received over 89 phone calls and 83 emails from members of the public looking to relinquish their dogs in the six weeks following Christmas Day this year.
Citing behavioural issues as the most common reason for wanting to give in a dog, Executive Director of Dogs Trust Ireland, Becky Bristow said that most problems are easily preventable.
Commenting on the situation, she 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 [sic] end and want to relinquish their dog.”
Saying that they are thankful people continue to contact them for advice, staff are eager to avoid situations where animals are simply abandoned outside the premises. Sharing a video of such an incident that happened during the festive period this year, the dog – later christened Blitzen – became entangled in the rope he was tied to, making the situation dangerous for both the animal and staff.
Head of Operations at Dogs Trust Ireland, Karla Dunne later added:
“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.”
Header image via Shutterstock
