Meath SPCA urge parents to stop and think before considering purchasing a pup for Christmas

The Meath SPCA are appealing to parents thinking of purchasing a puppy for their children for Christmas to stop and think as caring for a dog is a huge responsibility.

"That lovely puppy you first see will grow and need a lot of your time with socialisation, regular exercising, toilet training, feeding, grooming and worming and if not socialised properly they can become bored easily and generally end up chewing your furniture.

"To be a responsible pet owner you must consider these issues as looking after a pup is costly and is very time consuming. It also needs commitment and patience. However when a dog is well socialised and integrated into a family they are extremely loving and loyal and can give years of happiness to any family.

"Also, as we come out of a second lockdown this year we are all too aware of the negative affects that isolation have on our mental health.

"Many people, particularly elderly people living alone will testify that having a pet during lockdown helped them cope with the affects of loneliness. However, many dogs can spend most of their lives in constant lockdown such as having very little human interaction and spending long hours in gardens, pens and even chained up for days and weeks on end.

"Most of our work in the Meath SPCA is dealing with cases of neglect as much as abuse and leaving your dog unattended for hours and days without regular exercise and socialisation is a form of neglect. There are lots of animal welfare organisations willing to help you rehome your dog if you haven't the time to give them.

"There is no shame in surrendering your dog for rehoming as it's the responsible thing to do. Animal welfare is everybody's responsibility and if you are aware of any animal being abused please do report it.

"Finally, due to the current climate with Covid our funds are quite low and we would appreciate any donation[no matter how small] to help us in the fight against animal cruelty in Meath. Our website is www.meathspca.com"

Donations can be made to Bank Of Ireland Navan, IBAN;1E62BOFI90350916016496 BIC; BOFIIE2D. All members of the Meath SPCA work on a voluntary basis and all donations are used on welfare issues.