Heartbroken owners forced to give up their dogs due to the pandemic

A forgotten 'tail'

Author: Emma DicksonPublished 24th Feb 2021
Last updated 24th Feb 2021

Dogs Trust released a new advert today, featuring recordings from owners making the heart-breaking decision to hand over their dogs to the charity.

Based on trends seen during the last recession, the charity is already preparing for an increased reliance on its services. Between August 2020 and January 2021, Dogs Trust saw a 41% increase in web traffic to its ‘Giving Up Your Dog’ page compared to the six-month period beforehand.

Their ongoing ' Change the Tale' advert highlights the anguish felt by owners whose lives have been turned upside down by the pandemic.

In one call, a lady shares her pain of having to give up her dog having lost her job and home. Other callers cite the burden of increased working hours, firm closures, house evictions and financial struggles.

The charity is encouraging people to ‘change the tale’ for dogs affected by the pandemic, and to seek advice if they feel they can no longer care for their pet.

Dogs Trust Ballymena helped change the life of six-month old Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppy Dyllis. Sadly, Dyllis was found straying by a member of the public and was brought to the Rehoming Centre. Although no one ever came forward to reclaim Dyllis, she found a wonderful new home thanks to the efforts of her canine carers.

Sasha and Matt with adopted pup Dyllis

Belfast local Sasha Ferguson and her partner Matt had been searching for a Staffordshire Bull Terrier since the beginning of January 2020 and when Dyllis’s profile appeared on the Dogs Trust website, Sasha immediately was immediately smitten and set out to meet her.

“I have grown up with rescue Staffys and absolutely adore the breed,” shares Sasha. “Having moved home in January, Matt and I wanted a canine companion for our other family Staffy, Mollie. We were fortunate enough to be able to meet Dyllis on the grounds of the rehoming centre as lockdown restrictions had eased in July last year, and we both instantly fell in love with her.”

“Despite 2020 not exactly being the best year, our silver lining has been Dyllis and we couldn’t imagine our lives without her. We are fortunate to be in a position where one of us will always be at home to care for Dyllis, however we firmly intend on helping her adjust in a post-lockdown world when life returns to some normality.”

Dyllis with her new sister Molly

Conor O’Kane, the Manager at Dogs Trust Ballymena shares just one of the special perks of his job. “It is so wonderful to know that Dyllis has found her forever home, along with many other dogs that we have been able to change the tale for thanks to people like Sasha and Matt."

"But as the calls to Dogs Trust show, in these extraordinary times, circumstances can change in a heartbeat, leaving owners with incredibly tough decisions to make. It is heart-breaking to hear someone having to choose, for example, between a roof over their head, or their dog and we’d like to thank the people who made these calls for allowing us to share their story and for coming to us in their time of need. Unfortunately, we believe the worst is yet to come and we expect many more calls like this as the pandemic fallout continues - and we will do all we can to help those in need of our support.”

The charity provides a range of services to help keep dogs and their owners together, such as support for dog owners without a home and a unique fostering service for dog owners experiencing domestic abuse.

Dogs Trust Dog School is also providing easy to follow online videos helping dog owners tackle behaviours they are seeing as a result of lockdown that could eventually result in dogs having to be given up, such as separation anxiety. The charity also offers the Canine Care Card, which guarantees that if an owner should pass away or become very unwell, their dog will be cared for by Dogs Trust.

If you are struggling and need advice or support to give up your dog, or would like to donate to Dogs Trust, visit dogstrust.org.uk/changethetale 

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