Cork dog shelter 'full to the brim' with pandemic puppies

Cork DAWG recently saved a one-year-old Jack Russell which was brought to the vet by its owner to be euthanized, “because he was annoying”

The volunteer-led dog rescue charity has been overwhelmed by calls from owners who no longer want their pets, and now only have capacity left for emergency cases. Picture: Cork DAWG

Cork Dog Action Welfare Group (DAWG) have announced they cannot accept any more dogs, as they are “full to the brim” of pandemic puppies being surrendered by their owners.

The volunteer-led dog rescue charity has been overwhelmed by calls from owners who no longer want their pets, and now only have capacity left for emergency cases.

“We’ve had to refuse dogs on a few occasions over the years, but the difference this time is that they’re surrenders rather than strays,” said Máire O’Sullivan, a volunteer with Cork DAWG.

We’re getting four or five calls for surrenders a day, where we might have gotten one every day or two before. 

"Even the strays we’re picking up, a lot of them are also young dogs, which shows they're probably also dumped pandemic puppies,” she said.

One pet recently saved by Cork DAWG was a one-year-old Jack Russell which was brought to the vet by its owner to be euthanized, “because he was annoying”.

“Thankfully the vet refused and had the person sign over ownership to us and the dog is now with us, but not all of them have been that lucky,” said Ms O’Sullivan.

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Like many shelters, Cork DAWG saw a huge demand for dogs during the pandemic, as people spending more time at home sought out “pandemic puppies”. Now a year to 18 months on, these dogs are being left at shelters (or simply abandoned as strays) with complex behavioural issues.

“A lot of them have separation anxiety, or haven’t been socialised around other dogs or people, so we can’t quickly re-home them,” said Ms O’Sullivan.

“We just are not able to get them out to people as quickly as they’re coming in, because they need work from behaviourists and things to make sure they are safe to be re-homed,” she added.

The influx of pandemic puppies being returned to shelters has not come as a surprise to Cork DAWG, which had warned that it would happen. However, Ms O’Sullivan said the pandemic cut off many of their fundraising avenues, so they had no means to prepare for this wave of surrendered pets.

“We knew that this was coming, but we didn't really have any way to prepare for it because the money just wasn't there to put aside for this. We always tend to manage by the skin of our teeth, but this time is particularly bad,” she said.

Ms O’Sullivan urged people considering re-homing their dog to try other avenues first, in particular investing in training.

“You're setting your dog up for failure if you don’t train them. If you love your dog, but are at your wits' end, and you haven't tried a trainer, that's the obvious solution.

"Some of the wildest dogs that you'll ever meet can, through training and positive reinforcement, become very well mannered pets,” she said.

She also reminds people that pandemic puppies that are now a year or 18 months old are effectively rebellious teenagers, going through a behavioural phase that will pass.

“It’s the most challenging time of a dog's life, if you are finding it tough, know that it's not just you, and it will pass."