Charities swamped with dogs left by people who can’t afford to keep them
PET homes say they’re being inundated with requests to take in more and more pets – as their owners can no longer afford to care for them.
With energy bills rocketing and the price of food and essentials also increasing, some pet-owners feel they have no option but to give up their beloved animals and take them to a pet home or shelter, as they can’t afford to feed them or pay their medical bills alongside severely increased living costs.
Staff at Hope Rescue, a rescue centre in Llanharan, Rhondda Cynon Taf, that saves stray and abandoned dogs across South Wales, say they have “stark concerns” around the sharp rise in the number of dogs that have come into their care in recent months.
They believe the increase has been fuelled by people who adopted dogs when they were furloughed or working from home and are now returning to the workplace and no longer have the time to care for their dog, and due to the cost-of-living crisis.
Founder of Hope Rescue, Vanessa Waddon, said: “We recognise that we’re not the only animal welfare charity struggling with this problem right now. Many rescues across Wales are reporting the same issues and simply cannot keep up with the demand.
“What’s concerning us the most is the fact we can quite literally see a system that’s already bowing under the constant pressure of abandoned dogs coming in – with owners often lying and claiming they are strays – and a significant increase in responsible but desperate owners pleading with us to take their dogs in as surrenders on a daily basis. This is before we even consider the huge spike in dogs we’re taking in that have been seized from illegal and low welfare breeders who capitalised on the boom in demand.”
Head of welfare and adoption Sara Rosser added: “It’s so sad to hear owners pleading with us to take their dogs because they can no longer care for them for genuine reasons. We are trying our hardest to work through our waiting list, but often there is nothing we can do because we’re at capacity already with abandoned, stray and seized dogs.
“We know we’re seeing a number of fake strays come into our care because quite simply, we are being told by neighbours and friends that they recognise the stray dogs we post on our social media pages or they send us adverts of the dogs being advertised for sale the day before. It’s a very difficult and sad time for a lot of people we fear.”
Hope Rescue is urging dog-owners to “reach out for help and advice” rather than abandon their dogs. “If you are struggling with your dog and rising costs then there are a number of ways you can seek help. There are a number of pet food banks operating across Wales including the Pet Food Bank Service in Cardiff which covers most of South Wales.
The PDSA in Cardiff and Blue Cross in Newport can help with some vet bills in certain circumstances, dependent on qualification criteria,” a spokesperson for the charity added.
Dogs Trust, which has two rehoming centres in Wales – one in Bridgend and one in Cardiff – says 37% of dog owners in Wales think it’s now more difficult to give their dog all they need, compared to before the cost of living crisis began.
The dog welfare charity agrees with other animal homes in Wales that increasing food costs and bills are leaving “many dog owners unable to provide for their dogs”.
Plus, adoption numbers are decreasing as many people can’t afford to take on a new dog, so the UK could be looking at a “housing crisis for the nation’s dogs”, a spokesperson said.
“There’s been a notable increase in the number of people calling in for financial reasons, citing problems such as huge increases in their regular monthly bills, such as energy and mortgage payments, as the reason why they can no longer afford doggy basics such as food, which has also itself increased in price.
“Vet bills continued to cause the most worry: 51% of dog owners in Wales said vet bills were currently their biggest financial canine concern for the coming year. 17% were most worried about the cost of dog food, while 23% named insurance as their lead worry.”
CEO of Dogs Trust, Owen Sharp, added: “The UK is fast heading towards a situation in which, due to the cost-of-living crisis, we’ll have a surplus of dogs whose owners need to give them up, but a deficit of people who can afford to take on a new dog.
“Dogs Trust is issuing an urgent call for emergency foster carers, especially people with experience of caring for big dogs, who can provide a port in a storm to a dog who, for the moment, has nowhere else to go. If you can help, we urge you to get in touch with us and help look after the nation’s dogs through this crisis.”
“Likewise, if you’re struggling to afford looking after your own dog, Dogs Trust will do all it can to help. I’m afraid we can’t promise miracles, but we’re always here to listen without judgement, talk through the options and give dog owners the benefit of our expert knowledge.”
One Gower-based animal sanctuary said it’s been getting five to six phone calls a day from worried dogowners pleading with volunteers to take in their dear dogs, as they can’t afford to keep them.
“People can no longer afford to keep their dogs. It’s because of the cost-of-living crisis,” said co-owner of Woodfield Animal Sanctuary, Robbie Bartington. “Lots of dog homes are full, we take in dogs but we don’t have kennels [so can’t take many]. People’s changing circumstances mean they’re trying to rehome their dogs – we’ve had eight calls [asking us to take their dogs] in the last two days and we were getting five or six phone calls a day asking the same thing before that.
“Cat owners also can’t afford to keep their cats. And during the pandemic, more people got dogs and puppies, but now people don’t want them any more. We’re trying hard to rehome them, but more keep being abandoned.”
Meanwhile, in Cardiff, staff at a Cardiff council-run facility that takes in stray, abandoned and unwanted dogs from across Cardiff and parts of the Vale of Glamorgan says it has seen a “significant increase” in the number of dogs being taken to the facility in recent weeks, due to people returning to the workplace and no longer having the time they had during the lockdowns to care for their pooches and people being unable to afford to keep their pets, amid the cost-of-living crisis
“It is a double-edged sword and the effects are being felt up and down the country. There are 44 kennels onsite at Cardiff Dogs Home and they are all full, we are regularly over capacity and have dogs in our vet room or office as there is simply no kennel space available. There is also a waiting list of dogs due to come in from owners who are no longer able to keep them, this could be due to difficulties with behaviour or that they are simply unable to afford to keep them,” a spokesperson for Cardiff Dogs Home said.
“Most places up and down the country are full and at breaking point. Not only are kennels full but costs are increasing dramatically too. In the last five months we have already spent the same amount on veterinary fees as we did in the previous financial year – so in reality we are looking at our veterinary fees being more than double this year.”
Sharing a real-life example of an owner feeling forced to give up their dog due to increased costs, a spokes
We can quite literally see a system that’s already bowing under the constant pressure of abandoned dogs coming in
Vanessa Whaddon, founder of Hope Rescue
person at Cardiff Dogs Home said: “An example of how we are being affected by the cost of living crisis is the story of Olive.
“Olive came to us after her vets reached out to us for help – Olive had badly broken her leg and needed over £4,380 of treatment to get her fit and healthy again.
“As Olive’s owner was unable to afford the cost of the surgery and did not have insurance, he requested she was put to sleep. Olive was just seven months old with her whole life ahead of her. When we were asked if we could help to spare her life of course we said yes. We arranged for her to have the specialist surgery required [through our partner charity The Rescue Hotel] and nursed her through her recuperation postsurgery. Olive has now been signed off by the vet with a clean bill of health and is currently on her home trial to be adopted soon.”
With this story in mind, Cardiff Dogs Home advises pet owners to purchase insurance for their pets. “We appreciate that due to the rising cost of living it can be tempting to cancel insurance policies as a way to cut back on monthly outgoings but it really is a vital expense that has to be considered when deciding to bring a dog into your home. If you are struggling with the cost of keeping your pet it doesn’t make you a bad owner, it just makes you a pet owner going through an incredibly difficult time at the moment.
“I would urge anyone considering giving up their pet to contact organisations such as the Pet Food Bank in the first instance. As a charity we want pets to stay in loving homes rather than having to come to us so we support Pet Food Banks by donating any surplus food that we have at the home on a regular basis,” they added.
While the RSPCA prioritises animals that are rescued from cruelty or neglect, the charity has noticed an increase in calls for help from people who are struggling to afford to look after their pets, staff said.
A spokesperson said the UK-wide charity received 3,644 calls in 2021 with pet owners asking for “help with vet bills”, an increase of 12% on the year before and confirmed that there were 2,509 abandoned animals (not just dogs) reported to the RSPCA in Wales alone last year.
The charity feels that the cost-ofliving crisis is the “most urgent threat” to pet welfare. In a report released earlier this summer entitled the Animal Kindness Index, the RSPCA analysed a YouGov survey of 4,000 adults and found that while 69% of the public describe themselves as “animal-lovers”, 78% of petowners surveyed thought the increased cost of living would affect their animals, 68% were concerned the cost of care for their animals could increase and 19% of respondents worried they’d be unable to feed their pets.
In Wales, 65% of people said the cost of looking after their pet had become more expensive over the past 12 months while 19% said they were worried about being able to afford to properly care for their pet and 18% said they were worried about the cost of feeding their pets.
Many Tears Animal Rescue near Llanelli recently called for donations of bedding when it ran out of beds for its dogs.
On a Facebook post by the rescue centre, staff asked the public for donations and stated that due to “torrential rain” and lots of “new arrivals” they had run out of bedding for their dogs.
Since their post on September 10, the centre has been overwhelmed with donations and CEO of Many Tears, Sylvia Van Atta, has said she now needs a new shed to store the hundreds of bags of new bedding as their once empty shed is now “bursting” with donations.
The generosity of the community has come at a much needed time as Sylvia said they have sadly seen lots more dogs need their help in recent weeks and the rising cost of living is affecting the rescue centre.
“The money’s just draining,” said Sylvia. “It’s awful. That’s why when you put an appeal out and people answer, it’s so generous. I’m very grateful.”
In the past four weeks, Sylvia said the rescue centre has seen more and more people giving up their pets due to money problems.
Many Tears mainly take in and rehome ex-breeding dogs who are no longer wanted by breeders as well as dogs whose owners can no longer keep them.
On the rising numbers of dogs needing her help Sylvia said: “It’s the cost-of-living crisis, people aren’t buying dogs and dog owners can’t afford their vet bills and are taking up other jobs to try and keep going. So they’re never at home and dogs are barking and being left alone on their own now more than ever. There are lots more people breaking up and moving out and I think they are arguing over money problems. Then the dogs are disposed off.
“Just this morning, an elderly man called me and said ‘I just can’t go on with these dogs, it’s just getting too much. Everything has gone up and I can’t afford to keep the dogs on my pension.’”
Sylvia said the rescue centre has then suffered as a result of intervening in these types of cases.
Staff drive to pick up dogs from as far as Scotland and Northern Ireland and the cost of fuel has meant they are spending a fortune on transporting the dogs to Carmarthenshire.
The rescue centre has also seen a rise in dog owners committing suicide and leaving dogs behind since the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic and Sylvia said dogs are left alone due to this tragic reason a lot recently too.