DOGS Trust has received an “alarming” number of queries from members of the public wishing to surrender their dog since the start of the year.
Ireland’s largest dog welfare charity received in excess of 260 phone calls to date this January from the public wishing to speak to them about handing over a dog.
During the second week in January alone, Dogs Trust took in as many stray and unwanted dogs as resources allowed, including three abandoned and unwanted mothers.
A heavily pregnant Shih Tzu, was surrendered by her owner on January 9 because her puppies were not born on time for the Christmas market.
Mark Beazley, executive director of Dogs Trust, commented: “We are deeply saddened to see pregnant and recently whelped dogs being callously discarded when the Christmas market has ceased. We are still seeing unscrupulous breeders trying to cash in on the demand for Christmas present puppies, resulting in a high volume of unwanted puppies in the New Year.
An eight-week-old Chihuahua and an 11-week-old Collie were both bought as Christmas presents and surrendered to Dogs Trust this month by their new owners as they were unwanted.
Because of the high numbers of surrendered dogs and puppies the charity has had to take in, they have been unable to offer places to pound dogs which are most at risk.
Mr Beazley added: “Once again we are reminding people of the enormous commitment involved in rehoming a dog at any time of the year. Very simply, a dog is for life and not just for Christmas and the pressure and demands for our services this January just shows that, unfortunately, a flippant attitude towards dog ownership still exists amongst a significant minority of the public.
“The decision to own a dog is a deeply personal one and not a decision that should be made for someone by gifting them a dog.”
The Dogs Trust Rehoming Centre is located on Ashbourne Road in Finglas. Visit www.dogstrust.ie