How could they?
Abandoned on Christmas Eve, a mother with her pup clinging to her
THESE are some of the pitiful pups that have already been discarded along with the Christmas wrapping.
One of the abandoned animals, a beautiful dachshund was found with her starving pup clinging to her back on Christmas Eve.
The dog, who has been named Holly by her adopted carers in the My Lovely Horse charity, is a product of the shameful puppy farm trade.
According to her rescuers, she was the victim of overbreeding, and because her pup didn’t see in the countdown to Christmas, they were both cruelly dumped out in the cold before being found in the Lucan area of Co. Dublin.
Two weeks earlier, six vulnerable puppies were found abandoned in a Dublin graveyard before they were taken in by the DSPCA [Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals], who have named them after some of Santa’s reindeers.
But these rescued animals are among the lucky ones now being cared for by animal charities, which have again been left to deal with the much-warned-against decision of some parents to buy puppies as Christmas presents for their children.
In other cases, older dogs are surrendered in favour of so-called ‘designer breeds’, often purchased online from puppy farm operators.
From Christmas Day last year to the end of January, Dogs Trust took in 394 surrendered dogs and pups, adding to the thousands of animals they already help, most of them bought for Christmas.
And while the charity is thankful that owners are surrendering their dogs rather than dumping them, they dread trying to find room for the expected upsurge in abandoned animals over the coming weeks.
One rescuer told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘Every Christmas is the same; the pup is bought and the kids get tired of it, and then it’s surrendered. I have been on my knees the last 10 years, and it’s getting worse. Another rescue in the south is clearing whatever space it can find to accommodate the Christmas arrivals they know are coming.
‘Many of these pups are bought online because the kids see a cute pup and want it and the parents simply do not understand the responsibility of looking after a
‘The kids see a cute pup and they want it’
puppy. A dog is for life not just for Christmas but no matter how many times we say this, every year, even before the tinsel is taken down from the Christmas tree the pup is no longer wanted,’ they said.
‘The breeders, be they amateurs looking to make a quick buck, or the appalling puppy farmers, have lined their pockets and poor dogs and the rescues are left paying the price for people’s stupidity. Having said that, we are glad they are taking them to a rescue like ours, rather than abandoning them. But we are seriously worried about the weeks ahead.’