Opinion: With more abandoned dogs, it is important to ‘adopt, not shop’ - Kilkenny Live

Often I have to shut my mouth and say nothing when it comes to potential dog owners — there are so many dogs in rescues and in the local pound looking for a forever home or even a short term foster and yet so many people rely on breeders for their designer dog of choice.

Dogs Trust Ireland has received 412 requests since Christmas Day from members of the public seeking to surrender their dogs into the charity’s care.

Worryingly, this figure follows on from the 3,968 surrender requests they received last year, the highest volume the charity has seen since they opened their doors in 2009.

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While Dogs Trust was overjoyed to have been able to find loving homes for 1,042 dogs in 2023, they fear that 2024 will bring even more challenges as their resources are stretched to the limit.

The charity is appealing for the public to support them being able to ‘Save the Next Dog’ by donating what they can via www.DogsTrust.ie/Crisis or if they are in a position to foster a dog temporarily, to visit www.DogsTrust.ie/Fostering for more information.

With more and more dogs being abandoned and surrendered by irresponsible owners it is really important to consider fostering or adopting a dog instead of buying from a breeder.

Many of these breeders are basically operating puppy farms and the poor bitches are just overbred and overbred to give someone a dog that looks a certain way.

The reality is that there are hundreds of dogs available to be fostered and adopted at shelters and pounds all over the country.
Usually these dogs have had a pretty rough start in life so to be able to rehome them and give them comfort and a good quality of life is a great thing to do.

Animal welfare charities and organisations have long advocated the need to adopt when it comes to dogs and especially greyhounds and lurchers.

REHOMING

In Mullinahone Paws Animal Rescue, the team are taking care of 85 dogs, most of them greyhounds and lurchers, and are also

appealing to the public for support and to consider rehoming a dog if they are able to.

There is also a group of volunteers who go to Paws every weekend and walk the dogs and they are always happy to see new

people getting involved to lend a hand.

If you want to donate to Paws see paws.ie or to enquire about adoption contact the charity via

pawsadoptionqueries@gmail.com.

Anyone interested in volunteering to help out by walking the dogs can contact the volunteers group via the Walk a Dog page

on Facebook and transport from Kilkenny is provided.

There is so much to do be done around raising awareness of the growing plight of abandoned and abused dogs.

racing dogs

WONDERFUL PETS

In Ireland, hundreds of greyhounds end up abandoned after they are retired from the racing industry .

Many who are not winners in their early years are put down and a similar fate awaits many dogs who get injured.

Greyhounds and lurchers make wonderful pets and are content to lounge around at home demanding little attention.

The fact that the Irish government funds this industry is beyond comprehension to many, taxpayers money is used to keep this

‘industry’ going and the end result is that many dogs end up suffering and dying as a result.

Deputy Holly Cairns of the Social Democrats recently spoke out in the Dáil highlighting that Ireland is one of only ten countries

in the world where commercial greyhound racing is still legal at the end of 2023.

Since the current Government took office, it has given €74 million to the greyhound racing industry, with €19 million allocated

in budget 2024.

Deputy Cairns said that while some breeders and trainers are taking good care of their dogs, everywhere greyhound racing

operates, the story is the same, with animal welfare abuses, injuries, fatalities, overbreeding and culls.

“In country after country, the industry is being banned. In track after track, attendance is plummeting, yet the Government

continues to throw millions of euro at it every year,” she said.

“The continued support of political parties in government and opposition for State funding of this cruel industry shocks me.”

In my opinion Deputy Cairns is right and the time has come for the end of greyhound racing.

With local and general elections looming now is the time to make this an issue for the electorate and finally put a stop to this

activity.