Rescue shelter warns of ‘tsunami of unwanted dogs’

Concerns raised that pounds will fill up as country returns to workplaces after lockdown ends

A DOG Rescue in Ballivor has warned of their fears that healthy dogs will be put down due to overcrowded pounds once lockdown is lifted and owners who return to work surrender their pets.

Since the beginning of the pandemic Coolronan Dog Rescue owners Chris Kelly and Ramona Cunningham admit being inundated with requests for puppies and small dogs from desperate prospective dog owners and despite society reopening says he still has 100 people on a waiting list.

The big-hearted duo who have been running the rescue on a voluntary basis for the past fourteen years say they haven’t had a pup in the facility since February 2020 and are seeing an unprecedented demand for dogs of all breeds since first lockdown over a year ago.

The pair has previously spoken of being verbally abused for not having pure bred pups and have been accused of everything from selling dogs and increasing their rehoming fee to claims of benefiting financially for keeping dogs for a longer period of time.

However, they fear of having a far more serious problem foreseeing “a tsunami of unwanted dogs” in the coming months. Chris said:

“I have spoken to some of the dog wardens in the different counties and the fear is that the rescues are going to be full, pounds are going to be full and dogs will be put down.

“Rescues are after working for years to get the pound kill rate down and massively in a lot of pounds it is going to shoot back up, the pounds are not going to be able to hold them and will have to start putting them asleep. We are going to be back to square one with the percentages and the kill rate.”

“When you have parents going back to work and kids going back to school dogs are going to be forgotten about.

“Because dogs are getting such attention now a lot of dogs are going to suffer because of separation anxiety when they are left at home alone.

“Dogs that are used to owners at home over lockdown are going to have a lot of issues and will wreck the house when the owners go back to work and owners are not going to be come home and face that every night.

“The next thing will be putting them in the kennel outside, they will bark all day and the neighbours will go mad, the dog warden will be called and will result is a dog being put in a rescue or a pound.

“I just wish people would think about the commitment of a dog before they get one as rescues and pounds will be left to pick up the pieces.”