Wicklow dog shelters call for Government help as Tigger (17) bucks trend to get forever home

Animal rescue centres in Wicklow are struggling to keep up with the numbers of dogs being dumped on a daily basis.

Fiona Gammell from Wicklow Animal Welfare has spent close to 50 years rescuing animals. The private rescue centre took in, rehabilitated and rehomed 600 dogs in 2023, and has already taken in 165 dogs so far this year.

She feels that the dire situation today is still a hangover from a boom in new pet ownership during the pandemic, and that those who took up breeding dogs and cats then are still doing so, but now the demand for their offspring has disintegrated.

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“Never was an opportunity to make easy money from breeding dogs and cats more evident,” Fiona said. “People paid ten times the worth of dogs in the hopes of breeding them themselves and making even more money. No thought for what might and did happen when people had to return to the real world and real jobs.

“Dogs that were badly bred, primarily to make money, badly socialised and badly trained are now endemic in pounds and rescues across the country and beyond. Most countries are in the same situation and where, in the past, dogs may have been transported to rescue centres in the UK and beyond, they too have found themselves with too many dogs and not enough homes.

"We can only hope that things will pan out soon and people will realise that there is no money for the puppies that they are breeding by the van load. There are instances where whole litters of puppies have been handed into rescues. We have always had that in our line of work but it has increased across the country.”

Fiona is calling for the Government to take action to tackle the worsening scenario.

“Something needs to be done and quickly,” she said. “As long as rescue centres continue to mop up the detritus, the Government will wash their hands of the problem that has become insurmountable by rescue centres alone. More money is not the answer. The councils are giving licences to breeders and puppy farmers to breed hundreds, if not thousands of puppies every year. This must be curtailed until at the very least, things are under control. Rescue centres cannot keep up with the sheer numbers being dumped every day.”

Helena and Remi Le Mahieu run Ash Animal Sanctuary in Rathdangan and are also finding it increasingly difficult to secure permanent and loving homes for the dogs they are currently caring for.

Helena said: “Things have really gone backwards since the pandemic. We are right back to the old days of dogs being dumped and abandoned, or left tied to the gate of the local cemetery. We were getting so close before Covid to getting everything under control, but things since then have been setback at least ten years.

“So many people saw money flashing before their eyes during Covid and set about breeding, without having the proper knowledge involved. We had people contacting us during the pandemic asking if they could take a couple of bitches from us so they could breed them and make money of the puppies. Of course we would never hand a dog over to someone like that or in those circumstances.

“Finding homes for these dogs is now much more difficult than in previous years, and it’s placing all rescues, including Ash, under real pressure.”

Pet owners who are reluctant to get their dog or cat neutered are also adding to the problem. Wicklow Animal Welfare has already organised two reduced rate neutering schemes for cats through Avondale vets in Rathdrum so far this year.

Fiona added: “Please neuter your pets, as we do not need any more dogs and cats until all the ones languishing in rescue centres find loving homes.

“We cannot cope with all the requests to surrender pets. Please think twice about getting a pet, but if you do, please think of all the animals in rescue centres who are, through no fault of their own, waiting for the chance to be part of a real family. Most of the dogs we get in here are unneutered, unvaccinated and not microchipped.

“Microchipping is law since 2016 and a dog cannot be sold, or supplied without the benefit of a microchip. Unfortunately the law is in place but is not being enforced. If laws were enforced and every dog had a microchip inserted and registered correctly, it would be impossible to sell or supply a dog without the correct paperwork being in place.

“Unfortunately until this is taken seriously, animals will suffer by dent of being abandoned by uncaring and callous owners. Please be responsible and be part of the solution, not the problem. Contact Dogs Trust in Dublin who can issue reduced price neutering vouchers. We are in a crisis situation and we all need to help the animals that have been let down so badly by their owners.”

There has also been a noticeable surge in breeds such as the XL Bully, who don’t always socialise well with other dogs and can be difficult to rehome.

“There are so many bull breeds now and they can be very difficult to fit in with a centre with so many other dogs. They don’t tend to socialise well with other dogs,” said Helena. “They are fine if they are the only dog in the house.

"There are all sorts of bull crosses and all these crosses can make the dog very unpredictable, not just in terms of how they look, but also in terms of their temperament. They are the most loyal dogs and in the right situation they make super pets, but in the wrong situation, they aren’t.”

However, it’s not all bad news for Wicklow’s animal rescue shelters. Last weekend Ash managed to rehome several dogs, including 17-year-old Tigger.

Helena added: “Tigger first came to us as an 11-year-old, but was sadly returned to us following the passing of his owners five years ago. He was rehomed again last year, but unfortunately he was returned to us again due to a change in housing circumstances.

“We paid for him to have a full medical check and the reports were all good. He only has one tooth left, but all his joints are working well and his bloods were all good too. It was heart-warming to see such lovely people take him away to provide him with is final home. It put a spring in all of our steps.”