Over 4,173 owners have abandoned their dogs across Yorkshire in the past twelve months according to the annual Stray Dog Survey by Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity.
Dogs Trust questions all local authorities across the UK as part of the annual Stray Dog Survey and 2015 findings reveal that 4,173 dogs were left behind in council pounds in Yorkshire, where they remained unclaimed by their owners. Abandoning a dog puts them at risk of being put down by local authorities after seven days, as they struggle to care for the vast numbers of strays that are picked up on the streets of the UK every day. While Dogs Trust never puts a healthy dog down, 1,169 stray dogs were destroyed by reluctant local authorities in Yorkshire the last year.
In total, 8,909 stray and abandoned dogs have been handled by Yorkshire local authorities this year; the overall figure represents a slight drop on the previous year’s figures (9,612). Meanwhile, at Dogs Trust, 43,771 calls have been taken from people trying to give up their dogs in the last 12 months – that’s 3,647 calls a month, 841 a week and 120 a day.
Amanda Sands, Dogs Trust Leeds Rehoming Centre Manager Dogs Trust comments:
“To learn that over 4,000 unclaimed and unwanted dogs are left in council kennels across Yorkshire should shock us as a nation of dog lovers. Abandoning a dog is simply unacceptable and sadly, Dogs Trust’s famous slogan “A Dog is For Life” is as significant as ever – if you are not ready to care for a dog for its entire life, do not commit to becoming a dog owner.
This year’s Stray Dog Survey shows that Local Authorities continue to pick up the pieces and have found themselves in the tough position of being forced to put healthy dogs to sleep for lack of space and resources. Stray dogs that find themselves at Dogs Trust Leeds are the lucky ones, as we will care for a dog for its entire life if needed, but not all are so lucky and treating a family pet as a disposable item has to stop. Dogs Trust works tirelessly with the UK’s local authorities to reduce instances of straying by offering subsidised neutering and free microchipping, while this helps ease the pressure on council kennels, the responsibility must lie with dog owners.”
However, the work of local authority dog wardens and charities like Dogs Trust is having a huge impact. Across Yorkshire, 4,736 stray dogs were reunited with their owners. The charity is hopeful that this number will continue to grow as it will be a legal requirement to microchip your dog as of April 2016 across England, Scotland and Wales. Dogs Trust has long campaigned for this change in law as a microchip ensures dog owners are traceable and increases the chance of being reunited with your pet should it go missing.
