30th December
DOGS TRUST MERSEYSIDE COUNTS THE COST OF CHRISTMAS
Unwanted puppies and dogs handed in over festive period
Dogs Trust Merseyside has its hands and kennels full with seven five-week old puppies which were handed in to the Rehoming Centre just days after Christmas. Staff believe that the four males and three females may have been bred to be sold as Christmas presents and then abandoned when they didn’t sell.
Georgina Lowery, Rehoming Centre Manager at Dogs Trust Merseyside, says:
“We really are full to the rafters with gorgeous puppies. It’s shocking that so many people still buy puppies on a whim and don’t understand the lifelong commitment involved. It’s equally irresponsible when owners do not get their dogs neutered and allow them to breed, resulting in unwanted litters, which are then handed in to rescue centres like ourselves.”
And it’s not just puppies that suffer at this time of year. Just a couple of days before Christmas, staff found a five year old Akita chained to the Rehoming Centre gates. She was very thin and obviously frightened. Staff have named her Tinsel and she will be ready for rehoming in the New Year. Tinsel will need a home with someone used to large dogs where she will not be left for too long on her own. She can live with children over 12.
Dogs Trust Merseyside will be taking bookings for the puppies in the New Year and they will be ready to go home once they are eight weeks old.
If you are interested in rehoming a dog from Dogs Trust Merseyside, please call 0151 480 0660.
30th December
Our Leeds Center has not escaped either over 30 pups looking for home here alone Read the story here
28th December
NOT SO MERRY CHRISTMAS FOR “CLUEDO” AND “SCRABBLE”
Christmas present pups handed in to Dogs Trust rescue centres
We all know “A Dog is for Life, Not just for Christmas” yet sadly this was not the case for puppies “Cluedo” and “Scrabble” who were handed in to Dogs Trust rehoming centres today, 28th December 2011.
While others are busy catching up with relatives in between Christmas and New Year, staff at Dogs Trust’s 18 Rehoming Centres across the UK are busy working around the clock caring for Christmas canine casualties.
Today (28th December) Dogs Trust Leeds had a 14 week Greyhound crossbreed puppy brought into the Rehoming Centre. His owners purchased him on Christmas Eve but after only a few days have decided to give him up as he is not yet housetrained and began chewing the children’s other Christmas presents.
Dogs Trust Leeds Manager, Amanda Sands, comments:
“We have renamed this little pup Scrabble and hope to find him a new home in January with a family that have the time to train a puppy. Scrabble was bought as a Christmas present and his owners did not realise how much time is involved in looking after a puppy – unlike toys they don’t come with an off switch and puppies certainly need lots of training.”
Eight week old Yorkshire Terrier crossbreed puppy, Cluedo, was brought into Dogs Trust Canterbury today after an elderly lady walking her dog in the woods was approached by another woman trying to sell the young puppy to passers by .
Dogs Trust Canterbury Manager, Adam Levy, comments:
“We believe little Cluedo was an unwanted Christmas present and his owner was hoping that dog owners walking their pets around the woods would take pity on him and buy him off her. If no one bought him the woman said she would dump him in the woods so we are grateful to the elderly lady who brought him into us.”
For over 33 years Dogs Trust has been saying that “A Dog is For Life, Not Just for Christmas®” yet so many children and their parents still consider a puppy as a suitable present. Research*from the charity revealed that over a third of children asked for a puppy as a present and worryingly 16% of parents would have bought one if their child put it on their list.
Both Scrabble and Cluedo are now in safe hands and will be looking for new homes in the New Year. Anyone interested in rehoming the puppies should contact Dogs Trust Canterbury for Cluedo on 01227 792 505 or Dogs Trust Leeds for Scrabble on 0113 281 4920.
This year, Dogs Trust’s 17 Rehoming Centres across the UK and Ireland are bracing themselves to work around the clock caring for festive canine causalities.
Last year Brandy, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, was cruelly abandoned on a street in Reading on Christmas Eve, while Pudding, a Boxer cross, was dumped in snowy woodland during the night on Christmas morning. Both pups had been left to fend for themselves in the snow as temperatures dropped below freezing and staff are certain they were bought as Christmas presents and dumped when their owners realised the work involved in looking after a puppy.
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