DSPCA Issue Warning As People Give Up Their Pets In Order To “Replace” Them At Christmas

Christmas is just around the corner and the DSPCA are urging people to really think before they get a pet for their family as a present.

The charity said that around 50 dogs and cats have been brought to them in the past week for re-homing by owners who no longer want to keep them.

The DSPCA is advising that animals need constant attention and training and should not be neglected or handed into a rescue centre when they are “not wanted anymore”. 

Some of the reasons given to the remarkable organisation for people giving up their pets included that they had “gotten too big” or that the owner has “multiple dogs and wants to get rid of the troublesome ones”.

Gillian Bird who is Head of Education at the DSPCA said, “It is not unheard of for pet owners to surrender their pet dog as it has become “too bold” only to replace it with a new puppy at Christmas.

“Some of the cases are legitimate – where people are saying they can’t keep their animal as they’re moving house, their job has changed, or they have circumstances that are changed.

“But there are a couple of ones that are coming in that you’d be a bit dubious about.”

The Irish Mirror reported that already this morning, a litter of puppies were found abandoned on a north county Dublin street in the freezing cold.

So if you’re wanting to get a pet for Christmas, think about it before you commit.

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