The tragedy of owners abandoning their canine family members will be highlighted in a major ITV expose to be aired this evening. This time last year, pet abandonments spiked due to people getting pets for company in the pandemic but abandoning them when it was time to return to the office. Now, so called ‘pandemic pups’ are being replaced by ‘cost of living crisis dogs’ in a sad reflection of the state (and soul) of the nation.
New figures by the Dogs Trust, in conjunction with the Tonight programme, show that the charity and shelter has this year (1 January – 31 October) received more than 42,000 enquiries from dog owners across the country about rehoming their dogs – an almost 50% increase across the same period in 2021.
Amanda Sands, Centre Manager at Dogs Trust Leeds says they’ve seen a huge increase in cost-of-living dogs; it’s the worst she’s seen in three decades working at the shelter. The centre, which can house 65 dogs, is full and the waiting list is the longest it’s ever been.
Says Amanda: “We’ve seen a massive increase in the demand to take dogs in. There’s people bringing in their dogs that at one time would’ve said, I will never give my dog up. And they meant it. To have to say goodbye to your friend, it, it’s just, it’s unbearable. It’s unthinkable.
“As soon as dogs are going out, there’s so many waiting for that one place to come in. What worries me is I, I can’t see it getting better in the near future. So, at the minute it seems never ending”.
The Association of Dogs and Cats Homes (ADCH), in conjunction with Tonight, surveyed more than 60 animal shelters across the country about how they are responding to the cost-of-living crisis.
The survey found that:
- 61% shelters polled are taking in more dogs and 56% are taking in more cats
- 92% are seeing more people wanting to hand over a dog compared to pre-pandemic levels, and 88% seeing more people wanting to hand over cats
The ADCH survey asked rescues shelters what they were planning to help address the crisis in their local areas:
- 54% are planning to open food banks
- 54% are planning to provide pet advice including on the costs of pet ownership
- 30% are considering providing low cost or free veterinary services to pet owners
The Tonight programme also spent time at the Blue Cross Animal Hospital in Grimsby, which opened a new food bank in June. Around 75 families use the food bank every week and although it’s designed to be a temporary help, staff there are seeing pet owners return week on week.
Susan, who has been using the food bank for several months now, has cut down on her spending – including putting a stop to some of her son’s after school clubs.
Susan says, “Sometimes I do feel ashamed to come. I really do. But just something I have to do at this moment, I, I wouldn’t be able to do my bills, it’s just like with everything going up and everything now, every little bit now at this moment helps tremendously.”
Mark has been using the food bank for several months to help pay for specialist dog food for his Staffordshire bull terrier Rosie. With a huge increase in energy bills to pay, the food bank has helped him save 60 pounds a month on food. Without this help, he says he would have had to think about making some hard choices about Roxy’s future with the family.
“She’s part of the family, you know, we’d sooner go without ourselves then give Roxy up, you know, she’s my baby… (cries) …sorry.”
A YouGov and Dogs Trust poll, in conjunction with Tonight found:
- 48% of dog owners say they now find it more difficult to give their dog everything they need because of the cost-of-living crisis.
- 38% think it will continue to impact their ability to care for their dogs in the next 12 months.
- 48% of dog owners are most concerned about vet bills, 23% are most worried about the rise in cost of dog food and 14% are most concerned about pet insurance costs.
Lucy in Bedfordshire is one of those millions worrying about their budgets. Her family includes more pets than people – a dog, two cats and three bearded dragons, as well as her husband and three children.
Lucy predicts her pet food bill will have increased by £500 this year. She has started to budget her own family’s food and they’ve had some tough conversations about rehoming the bearded dragons.
Says Lucy: “Well, the dog food has gone up probably four/five pounds a week. For the year I think it’s gone up 480 pounds to feed all of them because we were not paying anything like that six months ago.
“The biggest worry really is the cost of energy. Because the bearded dragons have to be kept warm and obviously lit in their vivarium. That is a cost you can’t cut back on.
“We have had conversations over the last few months about out, what can we do? Rehoming them is an option, that would be the very, very last option. The kids would be devastated”.
Vets bills are another area of concern for pet owners.
ONS figures show that vets bills have gone up more than 10% in the last year and the Tonight programme found huge disparities in vets pricing across the country. Veterinary surgeries are able to set their own prices.
Tonight checked the cost of a consultation, vaccine and booster for dogs and cats at veterinary surgeries across the UK and found wide variations – even in the same city.
The lowest cost for a dog consultation / check-up was £33 in Northern Ireland, the highest was £75 in London – a difference of £42.
When challenged Dr Malcolm Morley, President of the British Veterinary Association (BVA).
“I think if we see within a city that there are vet practices with slightly different business models, that’s actually a really strong thing just within any industry to have people that are serving different sectors.”
“If people have got concerns, they should be approaching vets beforehand rather than after the events and say, Hang on, I can’t afford it. Is there a payment plan available? So one of our key messages is to be really honest because there’s often not just one way of doing things and vets are experienced pragmatists who can help advise people in the right way”.
Pets: The Cost of Loving Tonight – broadcasts on Thursday 17thNovember, ITV at 8.30pm