Dog charities receiving high call numbers from owners who cannot afford their pets
Dog owners are increasingly unable to afford their pets as the cost-of-living crisis bites, figures released by the dog charities reveal.
Animal welfare charity Battersea has estimated the cost of owning a dog in the UK is now approximately £2,000 a year – totalling £26,000 over the average dog’s lifetime.
The Dogs Trust has received 18,000 calls this year from distraught pet owners who can no longer afford to keep their much loved animals – 55% increase on the first half of the last year.
Adam Clowes, Operation Director at Dogs Trust, said: “Owners are having to make decisions between heating their homes, feeding their children or giving up their dog.
“Everyone is facing the same tsunami of requests. And we have to ascertain how urgent the need is.”
Meanwhile, in the first five months of 2022, the RSPCA took in 3% more dogs than in the same period in 2021.
The Scottish SPCA says calls to its helpline have more than trebled in the first half of 2022 and inspectors have provided support to thousands of people and their animals struggling to cope. The charity is piloting Pet Aid, which will see regular deliveries of pet food commence this week to Hamilton District Foodbank, meaning it is available to people in South Lanarkshire.
