Left to rot Plight of the pets cruelly abandoned by callous owners jetting off on hols
HUNDREDS of family pets are facing a summer of misery with one abandoned every hour, says the RSPCA. More dogs and cats are dumped over the school holidays than after Christmas as cruel owners jet off abroad, leaving their animals to fend for themselves.
July is the toughest month for the charity as it struggles to deal with hundreds of cases of pets left to rot.
Latest figures show more than 9,000 animals were abandoned during 2015 with 1,087 in July, compared to 626 in December and 741 in January.
The RSPCA says one reason this happens is owners book a holiday and then fail to find anyone to look after their pet while they are away.
Jennifer Knight, 39, from Allington, Lincs, is a typical case. She went abroad leaving three sickly Cavalier King Charles spaniels alone in her garden with only a junk filled outbuilding for shelter.
The RSPCA was alerted on August 4, 2016, and Inspector Becky Harper went to the property. She said: “It soon became clear there was nobody in the house, and on making further enquiries it seemed nobody had been there for days. The dogs, Ringo, Beanie and Poppy, had access to a small brick outbuilding through a cat flap but this was full of junk and hazards – it was really dangerous.
“All three dogs looked very thin and when I started opening a packet of dog food it was clear they were ravenous.”
A vet confirmed Beanie had a severe ear infection, Ringo was in desperate need of dental work, and sixth-month-old Poppy was shockingly underweight.
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Knight received an 18-month conditional discharge and was disqualified from owning animals for five years after admitting five counts of cruelty.
The dogs were taken into RSPCA care and are awaiting loving homes.
RSPCA Supt Simon Osborne said: “Every day inspectors face cases where animals have been left abandoned in fields, dumped in boxes, left for dead at the side of roads and even left outside our animal centres and hospitals. If pet owners are going away we urge them to make sure their pet is cared for by friends, family or a pet sitter.”