Animal Rescue Centre seeing increased demand as cost of living forces owners to ditch pets
Bristol ARC says more pets are coming in with serious injuries because owners can't afford vet bills
We're hearing how the cost of living crisis is leaving many pet owners unable to pay their vet bills.
The Bristol Animal Rescue Centre (ARC) says its seen an increase in people handing over animals with severe medical conditions.
Not only that, but there's now less people willing to adopt.
We've paid the centre a visit to meet Stanley, a 10-month-old French bulldog who arrived at the centre four months ago with a broken leg and bad eczema on much of his body.
Georgia Hawkins of the Animal Behaviour Team at Bristol ARC said: “Stanley is a sweet little puppy but when he arrived we immediately knew that all wasn’t right with him.
"He was struggling to walk and clearly in a great deal of pain.
"Nevertheless, he was very tolerant of being handled.
"It was almost like he knew we were trying to help him."
The ARC team say they also found Stanley hadn't been socialised properly and so was very vocal when left alone.
Once he had been signed over by his previous owners, Stanley was rushed in for emergency surgery and has since had daily physiotherapy.
Dr Damian Pacini, Principal Vet at Bristol Animal Rescue Centre, said: “Despite our surgical attempts, we’ve been unable to correct his elbow problem, although his leg works better than it did before.
"He’ll always have a limp, but it doesn’t limit his enjoyment of life and, aided by some anti-inflammatories he’s a pretty active chap.
"We have also performed some surgery on his facial folds, which will give him some relief from the skin inflammation which was bothering him before."
The team now says he's "an enthusiastic little pup" with a lot of admirers, but his story highlights a national problem that appears to be getting worse.
Nationally, animal intake at rescue centres is up 8.4 percent as pet owners struggle to afford their pets’ care during the cost of living crisis.
“Many pets are going without urgent medical care, particularly during the cost of living crisis and unfortunately we are picking up the pieces,” said Jodie Hayward, Animal Home Manager at Bristol Animal Rescue Centre.
“More animals are coming into our care with complex needs, and fewer people want to adopt them.
"We need support to give more of them a second chance at a happy life."
The average time a dog is staying at Bristol ARC is up from 85 days to 93.
To help with the number of animals they are having to look after, ARC is asking for your donations.
You can give to their Spring Appeal via this link.