Revealed: shocking reasons people give up their dog

Dogs Trust Manchester is bracing itself for the post-Christmas influx of unwanted dogs and is urging the public to remember the charity’s iconic slogan ‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas’ after a year of bizarre reasons offered by people giving up their dog to the charity.

The Denton based rehoming centre received 20 calls every day from people looking to give up their dogs in the weeks following Christmas last year. Reasons given by people for giving up their dogs to the charity included:

      I’m a vegetarian but he always wanted to eat meat

      I got him as a secret Santa present

      She was too friendly and wanted to greet every dog and human we met on a walk

      He was panting too much

      He didn’t like it when we played dress up

      She sleeps in her own bed all night – I thought she would want to sleep in my bed

To bring the message home the charity has created a video called Why I left you with a twist which highlights the carefree attitude which people sadly display towards dog ownership.

The charity’s iconic slogan has proved just as meaningful today as it was when first coined nearly 40 years ago as a new survey reveals 25% of dog owners in the region spend less than two weeks researching before buying a dog and 11% confessed to buying a dog simply because it was a cute accessory.

The survey also revealed that 15% of people admit to buying or receiving a dog as a Christmas gift. The dog owning public also significantly underestimated the financial cost of dog ownership with 37% of people in the north west believing their dog will cost them less than the actual cost of £10,000 during its lifetime.

Following 650 calls from people wanting to hand over their dogs in the weeks following Christmas last year, Dogs Trust Manchester are preparing themselves as they expect to take in many dogs in the weeks after the festive period.

Dawn Bishop, Dogs Trust Manchester Manager, said: “It is so sad that we receive so many calls from people wanting to hand over their dogs as dogs deserve to be treated as a member of the family. They aren’t disposable commodities; they are a huge commitment and should be for life. 

“Dogs Trust take in thousands of much loved dogs from heartbroken owners who sadly find themselves unable to continue to care for their dogs due to unavoidable changes in their circumstances so it’s particularly hard for staff when they see the other end of the spectrum; dogs handed in simply because their owner’s bought them on a whim and consider them little more than toys to be discarded when the novelty wears off.We really hope this Christmas is the year our nation of animal lovers finally takes heed of our slogan ‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas’ and we don’t see dogs discarded because their owners have not considered the lifetime commitment of dog ownership.”

Dogs Trust urge anyone considering getting a dog to ensure they do their research to find a dog compatible with their lifestyle so they are fully aware of the realities of caring for a dog for the duration of its lifetime. To find out more about what to consider when getting a dog and Dogs Trust work over the Christmas period please visit: www.dogstrust.org.uk/Christmas2017