Following a record number of surrender requests this year, Dogs Trust, Ireland’s largest dog welfare charity, has launched an emotive campaign entitled “Save the Next Dog” to highlight the sheer volume of dogs facing uncertain futures across the country.
Dogs Trust revealed that from January to October 2023, they have been contacted by almost 3,500 people seeking to relinquish their dog. This is the highest number of surrender requests that the charity has ever recorded in a year, since opening their centre in 2009. Unwanted behaviour, accommodation challenges and owners not having enough time are the three most commonly provided reasons to Dogs Trust, from people asking to surrender dogs.
“We are seeing more and more cases of dogs being abandoned with extensive veterinary needs, and it has made us question if people cannot currently afford to look after their dogs? Unfortunately, we are then left to cover expensive medical costs which, in some cases, could have been easily treated when they initially arose,” Niamh Curran-Kelly, Veterinary and Welfare Manager at Dogs Trust Ireland, said.
As part of the campaign, the charity is launching an emotive, new TV advert showing it’s not just owners who are having to make impossible choices but also the team at Dogs Trust who are working tirelessly to help as many dogs as possible.
“We are being contacted by dog pounds and other welfare organisations around the country, as well as members of the public, asking us to take dogs. It’s distressing to hear the desperation in the voices of the people who contact us and having to say that we only have space for a certain number of dogs breaks our hearts. Everyone involved in dog welfare is trying their very best to help as many dogs as possible but the sheer number of dogs who have nowhere to go is overwhelming,” Regional Manager, Eimear Cassidy at Dogs Trust Ireland explained.
“Many dog owners in Ireland are in crisis and being forced to make heart-breaking decisions. However, Dogs Trust and many other organisations like us, are having to make impossible choices because we simply don’t have the resources to take them all. The sad truth is that it’s getting tougher to save every dog that needs us. As a charity that receives no government funding, we are appealing to the dog-loving public to please support us, so we can continue to save the next dog in need,” Executive Director of Dogs Trust Ireland, Suzie Carley concluded.
To find out more about the campaign and how you can help, please see www.DogsTrust.ie/Crisis
