Gimme Shelter: canine home cares for 220 dogs this year

Carlow Kilkenny Dog Shelter has seen a rise in every type of dog being surrendered or abandoned recently. Most are aged 12 to 18 months, the Covid puppies that were adopted during lockdowns. Now that the peak of Covid has passed and people are returning to work, dogs are being abandoned at an increasing rate. To date this year, the shelter near Paulstown has rehomed or, has had through their hands, 220 dogs. 

Gillian Henderson who has worked at the shelter for over four years, says: “The last six to nine months it's just gone out of control.”

Currently, due to the volume of dogs, the shelter is only accepting abandoned or stray dogs. No surrenders are being accepted. At maximum capacity they can care for 20 dogs, 22 in an emergency. Recently they had a group of five dogs found abandoned together. 

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Due to the pandemic, dogs being left now are frequently not socialised or have behavioural issues. During the lockdowns there was an “any dog will do” mentality about getting a family dog but now some of these pets have proven to be unsuitable for the homes or environments they went to. 

The reasons for surrendering a dog are varied including working from home ending and dogs being left alone, boarding kennels becoming increasingly expensive, the cost of living crisis, socialisation problems and/or health problems. The end result however is the same: a dog left homeless and in need of urgent care. This is where shelters like Carlow Kilkenny come in.

The process when a dog is brought to the rescue involves scanning for a microchip, registering the dog’s details, doing a health check, assessing their temperament, vaccinating and neutering if necessary, taking their photograph and then posting it to the shelter’s social media pages to find the owner or a new home. Then they wait for expressions of interest and screen the applicants, a time consuming practice done to ensure that the dogs go to the right home.  

If the dog is microchipped, an attempt is made to reach the owner. If there is no registered owner the dog is identified as available for adoption. Owners have five days to claim a dog, after that they can be rehomed. The fee to rehome a dog is €50 and €25 if you are reclaiming them. 

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Gillian Henderson, who treats all her rescue charges with great care, appeals to people to think long and carefully about dog ownership. People need to be aware that it can be a commitment of 14 plus years, that breeds need to be chosen that are suitable for an individual’s or family’s  lifestyle, that dogs need to be socialised and trained as young as possible and that cute puppies can turn into large energetic dogs. Dogs can also be expensive. 

Thankfully, dogs are no longer euthanized now except in very exceptional circumstances including if they have killed sheep, if they have been hit by a car, are exceptionally aggressive or if they have contracted canine Parvovirus. The stats for Carlow Kilkenny Dog Shelter in recent years are: one dog put to sleep in 2022, none in 2021 and two in 2020 (due to a sheep kill). 

Nationally, the number of dogs being euthanized has decreased dramatically in the past 20 years. At its peak 25,000 to 30,000 dogs were put to sleep annually. Today the figure is less than 3000: a drop of 90%. The campaign to promote responsible dog ownership and neutering, the Animal Health Welfare Act of 2013, a policy change by dog shelters to work with rescues to place dogs, the Micro Chipping Act of 2016 and the regulation of puppy farms via the Dog Breeding act of 2010 have all contributed to the decline in dogs being destroyed. 

However the recent rise in dog abandonment means that the system is absolutely stretched to capacity. As Gillian observes: “This winter will probably be tough.” She wants people to really “Think it through, before getting a dog”.

A dog should be for life not for a little while. 

More info is available at www.facebook.com/pages/category/Animal-Shelter/CarlowKilkenny-Dog-Shelter-440353942989467/