Dogs Trust takes its 50,000th request to re-home a dog - is UK in an animal welfare crisis?
Late on Friday of last week, just as the nine-to-fivers among us were finishing up for the week and looking forward to a festive weekend, Dogs Trust hit the tragic milestone of its 50,000th enquiry this year from an owner who felt they had no option but to ask us to take in their beloved dog.
This is the highest number of annual enquiries in the charity’s history. The owner who took the unenviable mantle of becoming our 50,000th caller this year had, like so many of the others who have contacted us over recent months, fallen victim to household bills that have spiralled out of all control. She’d reached a point where, much as she loved her dog, and regarded him as a member of the family, there was simply no way she could afford to keep him on for at least another year of sky-high household bills.
It is possible to take some positives from the fact that so many dog owners have contacted us this year. Dogs Trust is here for all dogs and their owners, and we want to help as many as possible; 50,000 have turned to us for support this year. We have been able to offer advice and practical support to many of those who have contacted us, including signposting them to our dog food banks and providing guidance through our newly launched Behaviour Advice Line. This means that some dogs that may have otherwise needed to be rehomed have been able to remain with their loving families, despite difficult circumstances.
However, 50,000 enquiries this year also tells us, in the starkest terms, that the animal welfare crisis we’ve been dreading, which we’ve been watching creep up as the months ticked by and the bills continued to rise, is now here. Dogs Trust is the most stretched we’ve been in our 131 year history, inundated with dogs whose owners can no longer afford them as costs continue to rise and rise.
What’s going to happen next year, as the crisis continues, and starts to have a cumulative effect on people who’ve been scraping by for months on end? I just don’t know. My real fear is that, with Dogs Trust and our counterpart charities stretched to the limit - and beyond - by an unprecedented influx of family pets, sooner or later we’re simply going to run out of space.
Dog owners’ fears for the future
Dogs Trust has been checking in with dog owners each month since the crisis started to bite, to understand their deepest concerns and where they need most support. From our new poll, carried out for us by YouGov, we’ve learned that more than six in ten (62%) of people who don’t currently own a dog think the rising cost of living would prevent them from getting a dog in 2023, with over a third (36%) saying it ‘definitely would’ prevent them, and a further quarter (25%) saying it ‘probably would’.
When you’re looking at hundreds of thousands of dogs and other pets that people can’t afford to keep, but other people can’t afford to take on, and finite charity space and resources, it’s a crisis of the like the UK hasn’t experienced before.
2023 – will it be a happy new year for dog owners?
Our latest poll also told us that a third (33%) of the UK’s dog owners are worried that, as costs continue to rise in 2023, the crisis will impact on how well they’re able to care for their dog next year. Their biggest worry is vet bills (46%), followed by the cost of dog food (18%) and pet insurance (16%).
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We’re working as hard as we can to help dog owners where they need it most. The first thing is that Dogs Trust has set up temporary dog food banks at six of our 21 centres, so that dogs won’t go hungry this winter.
I strongly urge anybody who is struggling to feed their dog to check out both our dog food banks, if there’s one near you, or one of the many provided by organisations such as Trussell Trust.
Wishing you all a happy Christmas
For many, it’s not going to be the easiest Christmas. Our poll also showed, perhaps unsurprisingly, that many people’s plans will be impacted this year; more than two in ten (21%) said their dogs will receive fewer presents than normal, and more than one in ten (13%) said they won’t give their dogs a present at all this Christmas, despite giving presents in previous years.
Meanwhile, fewer dog owners are going to be ‘driving home for Christmas’ - nearly one in ten (9%) said they’d be staying home instead of going away for Christmas or visiting family this year, because they won’t be able to afford a dog sitter.
It’s been a challenging year all round, but Dogs Trust remains here for dogs and their owners, just as it has been for the past 131 years. If you’re having a hard time with your dog, please don’t suffer in silence and leave it until it’s too late – give us a call on 020 7837 0006 or visit www.dogstrust.org.uk/rehoming/giving-up-your-dog/contact-us. There are a number of ways that we might be able to help and our utmost priority is to keep as many dogs with their families as we can and never to hit that 50,000 mark again in future years.
I wish you all a restful and happy festive season.
Owen Sharp
CEO, Dogs Trust
Uttery heartbreaking 💔
Operations and Procurement Manager
1yI wish there was a solution to this. Maybe, on a small scale like families who struggle with child costs. Like child benefits , but animal benefits. Food tokens for thier pets. For some people thier beloved pet is thier everything. Animals bring love, joy and at some points even our therapists. They cure loneliness. I wish the government could see them in the same way as when families need help with thier childcare bills.
Sad times but at least we have people like Dogs Trust to turn to when in crisis. Dogs Trust
Charity Leader & Intrapreneur 🌿 Advocate for animal rights 🐾 Embracing global cultures 🌍 Flaneur & Rambler🚶♂️ Biomedical Science Enthusiast 🔬 Change Maverick 💡 Connect!
1yIt’s heartbreaking 💔 for both humans and animals. I don’t want this to sound as a judgement - people’s circumstances are different and what’s important at the end is the welfare of both animal and human. Yet, I found myself in dire straits, literally was either me or my pet. And as one would do with a child (again, circumstances may vary), I ended up with debt, cutting my own budget and stretched as hard as I could. We eventually made it at the other end, sadly few months later and he passed away. Whilst I can concur the current economic crisis may trigger an animal welfare one, I feel we should be digging deeper in understanding what has gone wrong on the past decade or so with animal ownership (I prefer guardianship), how we should re-educate people on the commitment and needs of a non-human animal. They are in many ways seen as commodities, or treated as an add-on. Lastly, the vet costs, particularly for animals with pre-diagnosis are outrageous. It is probably as bad as US health systems! For a country where pet ownerships was often referred to as the “ideal state”, it is my humble opinion we have fallen way behind. Reform the “economic paradigm” around companion animals, Re-educate on Guardianship. To 2023!