dogs being dumped - the credit crunch?? see UPDATE on pg. 5

foreign_correspondent

lots of rescues make you sgn a contract saying that if you cannot keep the dog for whatever reason that it must go back to them.. either this one didnt or she has chosen to ignore it!

sammy_kaye18

God this drives me mad.

Am sat writing with a small jack russell terrorist squashed on my lap who is moulting nicely over my new black trousers which i was ment to wear tomorrow but not for the world would i give him up.

Ok he probably lately has had less exercise than he should but hes trained and relatively :rolleyes: obedient.

It costs nothing to feed a dog and im sorry but a friend of mine who has been struggling lately fed her dog on cornflakes and table scraps for two days until her benefits came through! so maybe not the healthiest diet the pooch has ever seen but better than nothing and certainly better than dumping him.

I dont understand how some people can be so heartless.

foreign_correspondent

Sammy kaye - I agree, a dog can be kept for next to nothing and if you find you are struggling then cheap dog food and table scraps with love and companionship is certainly 100% preferable to the life of a dumped dog, lonely, hungry and cold.

I sometimes feel we are a bit 'all or nothing' about animals - at the one end of the spectrum you have overfed handbag dogs, wearing little frocks and being carried around and fed on ridiculously expensive food, and at the other you have the abandoned, unfed and cruelly mistreated dogs. (I think we - as a society- are a bit the same with kids actually)

I dont think either of these are ideal for dogs, and that most dogs are happy with a full belly, a stroke and a fuss and the opportunity to have a good run about!

A bit of training goes a long way too, but so long as your dog has some manners and is not a total hooligan then its cool!

ETA - I gave up smoking - and the dog costs far less per month than the fags did - and she is much more fun!

debtfreein4years

I would love a dog, but as both me and my bf work we have made the decision not to have a dog until we are starting a family and I will be home all day as neither of us think its very fair to leave a dog on its own during the day as neither of us is able to come home in the middle of the day to walk it. When we do get round to getting a dog it will definetly be a rescue dog as I cant stand the thought of people giving up a dog just because they cant afford it or they cant cope with it (ok in some situations the coping reason is valid)

It makes me feel sick and angry to read about people giving up part of their family for no other reason than finance as you wouldnt give up your child so why should you give up your dog!!!!

catkins

debtfreein4years wrote: »

I would love a dog, but as both me and my bf work we have made the decision not to have a dog until we are starting a family and I will be home all day as neither of us think its very fair to leave a dog on its own during the day as neither of us is able to come home in the middle of the day to walk it. When we do get round to getting a dog it will definetly be a rescue dog as I cant stand the thought of people giving up a dog just because they cant afford it or they cant cope with it (ok in some situations the coping reason is valid)

It makes me feel sick and angry to read about people giving up part of their family for no other reason than finance as you wouldnt give up your child so why should you give up your dog!!!!

I so agree with you. Of course people say well a dog is not a child but in my view the dog is part of your family.

It's like when people move abroad and don't take their pet(s). I just cannot understand how they can do that. I know I never could not even for the best job in the world.

Jellicat

I dont really buy the vast majority of sob stories of people "having" to give up their dogs. My friend feeds his (very large) pair of adult dogs Science Plan and he says although the large sacks seem hideously expensive to buy, feeding them is actually pretty cheap. You dont need to buy expensive treats for your dog, if you want to treat them many household foods do fine, and you can also make them toys, or invest in a few very strong ones. Insurance isnt expensive either. I suppose the first year, with neutering and all the stuff to buy, can be pricey but after that I dont think any dog, even the largest of the large, is a huge expense to keep. There are always ways to save money in keeping pets (without the animals suffering), I dont think there's normally a need to dump them. People always have an excuse for getting bored and dumping their pets, and this is the latest.

My pets are as important to me as my family, and you dont dump your family because they cost you money!

moggylover

MrsE wrote: »

Ted (see avatar) died just over a month ago. Nothing on earth would have made me give him away (bar homelessness).

We've got a kitten (& I've sent off a deposit on a second), but lots of the breeders I've rung to enquire about kittens said when asked the price "well, due to the credit crunch I've reduced them to XYZ" so it seems it has been affecting sales of pets & I've heard abandoned pets has risen too.[/quot

Trouble is that is absolutely the wrong thing to do:mad: . They are more bothered about selling the kittens than getting them the good homes they deserve!

I have a heavy heart today thinking of the TOTALLY unsuitable family that I know that have just purchased a Siberian Husky "for the kids" for Christmas. They live in an over-crowded ex-council house, with a small garden and I am perfectly certain that when it gets a bit too big under foot it will be off to the rescue, that is if one of the kids doesn't leave the front door open in which case it will be off and under a car on the road outside :mad: .

I try to be a kind-hearted person to everyone, and will make excuses for the baddest of bad behaviour, but 40 years of rescue work is taking its toll and making it very hard for me to not want to crucify those members of society who think of animals as a way to make money, or as a toy for the kids, or as a temporary fashion accessory/game.

Yes abandoned pets is already on the rise, and so are requests for us to take pets in! I don't take it overboard, my cats are members of the family but as pets not replacement people, but how on Earth people can do this with something that loves them I do not know.

Rant over - Merry Christmas to you all, and to those rescuing or arranging rescues: keep your chins up, last recession was tough for pets, and I think people have got even more selfish in general since then:o

foreign_correspondent

let's hope falling sales slow down the breeders a bit - if it isnt profitable you can be sure they will not carry on and lose money.

Phenomenal amount of dogs landing in rescues at the moment, and the influx of christmas puppies is still to come.:(

Hawthorn

Foreign Correspondant - when the kids go back to school, I'm thinking of doing a little voluntary work to get me out and about again (I've been poorly with MH problems)
How do you go about volunteering for a dog rescue, and what would be expected? Would it mainly be cleaning out kennels/exercising kind of work? I have no formal experience with animals, though I have grown up with dogs and have one now.

SomeBozo

Hello all

I have read (most) of this thread with interest.

We have always had rescue dogs. We currently have 4 ex-racing greyhounds.

I just want to level the field a little bit. Some of the "rescue" homes do make it hard sometimes for familes to re-home a dog.

We had had our 4 for 9 months, lovely caring dogs.

When we went to visit the place, she was not there (despite telling us she would be). Then on our appointment she was rushing to be somewhere else. Then she did not turn up twice for out home check.

Most other people would have give up!

Bozo