Almost 400 dog surrender requests since Christmas, says welfare charity

One-year-old Collie cross sisters, Serena and Venus are just two examples of the escalating dog crisis in Ireland. Picture: Fran Veale

An animal welfare charity is appealing for help following 394 requests from the public looking to surrender their animals since Christmas Day.

Dogs Trust Ireland has seen an "alarming" 33% increase in the volume of dogs they are being asked to assist, compared to the same period last year.

Many of those looking to surrender their dogs have cited lack of time, difficulty finding pet friendly accommodation and dogs exhibiting unwanted behaviours as the reasons for taking the step.

The charity revealed that many of the dogs they are being asked to assist with consist of post-pandemic puppies and those who were raised during Covid-19 lockdowns. Those raised during the pandemic require extra behavioural support and care due to being more unsocialised compared to other dogs.

Dogs Trust Ireland head of communications Ciara Byrne said: “We are taking in more and more dogs with behavioural issues who then spend more time with us as our dedicated team works with them, to get them to a stage where they can be adopted. We are thankful that so many people contact us for help and advice about their dog and don’t resort to abandoning them.

“We try to help where we can, from our online dog school training classes, to advice available on our website, our aim is to keep as many dogs as possible, happy in their existing homes.”

One-year-old Collie cross sisters, Serena and Venus are just two examples of the escalating dog crisis in Ireland.

Both dogs were pregnant when they surrendered to Dogs Trust in December. The charity has since found homes for their puppies, leaving Serena and Venus on the hunt to find their forever homes.

One-year-old Collie sisters, Serena and Venus are on the hunt to find their forever homes. Picture: Fran Veale

As they are unsocialised and not used to walking on a lead or the sounds of traffic, they need a quiet home where they can "slowly come out of their shells".

Speaking about dogs in their care, regional rehoming manager Eimear Cassidy said: “Sadly, we are struggling to rehome medium to large sized dogs, especially those who are nervous or worried, as they need quite specific homes.

"We are appealing to people who work from home or are at home a lot of the day, live in quieter areas, don’t have children under 16 and who are willing to give a dog a few months to settle in, to please contact us.

"We understand that people have preferences for certain breeds, but it breaks our hearts to see so many of our beautiful, bigger dogs being overlooked while the smaller dogs are generally quickly adopted,” she added.