Dogs Trust Ireland have warned of a “worrying” increase in the number of dogs needing the charity’s help after the charity took in a litter of four-week-old puppies that had been abandoned before Christmas in Co. Dublin.
The charity said that a shocked member of the public spotted one of the tiny puppies in the middle of the road. After getting out to help, he found a plastic bag containing the puppy’s six siblings nearby. Dogs Trust said the defenceless dogs were soaking wet and distressed, with two of them already dead.
The animal welfare charity said: “Our veterinary team did their utmost to treat the puppies but given their age and the condition they arrived in, despite their best efforts, only two survived.”
Veterinary and Welfare Manager at Dogs Trust Ireland, Niamh Curran-Kelly, said: “Cases like this are incredibly upsetting for everyone involved. At just four-weeks-old, puppies are still heavily dependent on their mother and wouldn’t be fully weaned yet.
“They were far too young to be separated from her, let alone to have been left outside in the cold and rain. Despite receiving the very best care, we were saddened that only two of the puppies have survived this ordeal. Thankfully, these two little fighters are thriving, and both have recently been adopted.”
In November 2023, the charity launched their ‘Save the Next Dog’ campaign, highlighting what it described as an “abandoned dog crisis” in Ireland. Dogs Trust Ireland saw almost 4,000 people make contact with them in 2023, seeking to relinquish their dog into the charity’s care. This number was the largest volume of such requests the charity has received since opening in 2009 – and they fear that even more dogs will need their help this year.
Ahead of Christmas, Dogs Trust Ireland said that dogs across Ireland were “in crisis,” and that it was becoming tougher and tougher to be there for every dog in need of help.
Launching the campaign, the charity said that Ireland was facing the biggest crisis for dog welfare.
“We are being contacted by dog pounds and other welfare organisations around the country, as well as members of the public, asking us to take dogs. Everyone involved in dog welfare is trying their very best to help as many dogs as possible but the sheer number of dogs who have nowhere to go is overwhelming,” Regional Rehoming Manager Eimear Cassidy said.
Last month, across the border in Northern Ireland, the abandoned pet crisis was described as being “out of control” – with dog rescuers said to have been forced to contiue rehoming pets into and over the Christmas period for the first time in their history. Belfast Live reported in December that every rescue group in the North was beyond capacity, meaning volunteers had to keep rehoming applications going without a pause as the number of dumped, abandoned and surrendered dogs had reached “epic” proportions.
Diane McGoverrn, of Bright Eyes Animal Sanctuary in Enniskillen, said the charity’s services were in high demand. She told the news outlet that the cost of a dog or the ability to keep a pet in rented accommodation was the issue for some owners.
“Add to that the people who don’t even consider a rescue dog as a possibility, and we have the worst crisis we have ever experienced in Northern Ireland,” she said, adding: “The only positive in all of this is that the dogs are brought to us and other rescues and most are not just dumped on a roadside – although that continues to happen too.
“It’s utterly heartbreaking and in the vast majority of cases, there is just no thought for the dog, no care or human compassion and the excuses are getting very tired. The most used excuse we see these days is ‘change of circumstances’. It’s a coverall that says enough but doesn’t really give us a chance to explore further.”