Dog owners’ cost worries
Research carried out for us has shown that more than a third (35%) of dog owners in the UK think the rising costof-living is making it more difficult to give their dogs all they need.
This first phase of the survey found that over two thirds (68%) of dog owners feel worried, to some extent, about how they will care for their dog in the next year, with 30% either “very” or “fairly” worried.
By far the greatest worry was how they would manage to pay vet bills, which almost half (49%) named as their main concern.
The second biggest worry was affording dog food
(17%), closely followed by insurance (15%).
This gloomy picture echoes our own interactions with both current and future dog owners.
Our charity, which provides care for dogs in need all over the UK until we can find them new homes, is seeing a steady increase in the number of requests from owners who have made the heart-breaking decision to give up their dog.
It harks back to the year after the 2008 recession, when the increase in the number of stray and abandoned dogs reached over 25% in the UK.
We know from that experience that economic crisis can and will lead to people needing to give up their beloved dogs; sadly, many loving dog owners simply won’t be able to afford to keep them.
We’re re-homing and fostering dogs as quickly as we can - but as soon as we free up a kennel space, there’s a dog to fill it again.
We’ve already taken 13,000 calls this year from owners who need to give up their dogs – a 58% increase on last year.
We know that dog owners need immediate help and we’re working hard to find ways to support them but it takes time.
If you’re really struggling, please contact us - even if we can’t take in your dog immediately, there may be other types of help we can suggest.
We want dog owners to realise that they don’t have to wait until they are in crisis to call us for help.
Owen Sharp, Dogs Trust CEO.
“Owners are worried about how they will care for their dog in the next year.”