Dog tied to tree and abandoned in Finglas

A LEADING animal charity released upsetting CCTV footage last week showing a dog being tied to a tree with a washing line and abandoned outside its Finglas rehoming centre.

Dogs Trust shared the video as it launched its latest campaign, ‘A Dog is For Life’. It wants to remind people of the slogan – ‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas’ – following a high number of surrender requests this year.

The charity is urging people to think about the lifelong commitment and responsibility that comes with owning a dog and then wait until after Christmas to consider taking on a new addition to the family.

Dogs Trust revealed that from January to October 2019, over 1,900 people across Ireland contacted them looking to relinquish their dog. The most common reason given was that they didn’t have enough time anymore.

The shocking CCTV footage released last week shows little Pudsey, a Jack Russell Terrier, being tied to a tree outside the gates of their rehoming centre in Finglas. The bewildered dog then looks back and tries to follow the man as he disappears around the corner.

Head of Operations at Dogs Trust, Karla Dunne, said: “A staff member spotted a small dog tied to a tree, just outside the gates to our rehoming centre. The man could have brought him into our centre where there were staff there to attend to him immediately, but instead he chose to abandon him, frightened and confused, beside a very busy main road until someone spotted him.

“When our veterinary team examined the dog, they found he had severe dental disease, alopecia and red marks on his forelegs from licking at them, which we think may be behaviourally linked as x-rays on the areas showed no abnormalities. Due to the dental disease, poor Pudsey had to have four teeth extracted but thankfully this won’t affect his ability to eat and the little fella is recovering well from his ordeal.”

With over 1,000 abandoned dogs per year coming through Dogs Trust’s doors – and thousands more the charity cannot possibly take in – people are still taking on the responsibility of dog ownership without giving enough consideration of what it entails.

To help spread their message and show that your dog is for life, Dogs Trust are asking people to share the first and most recent photos of their dog using the hashtag #ADogIsForLife on social media.