“My Dog Looks Evil” (and other reasons for abandonment)
Dogs Trust exposes the most outrageous reasons for abandoning dogs
Thirty years on from the birth of its famous slogan “A dog is for life not just for Christmas®”, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity Dogs Trust is today revealing the top ten most irresponsible reasons people have given for abandoning their dogs.
Reasons given to Dogs Trust staff as to why owners could no longer look after their dog:
1. “My dog doesn’t match the sofa.”
2. “The dog looks evil and has different coloured eyes, just like David Bowie.”
3. “My black dog doesn’t match new white carpet, can we swap him for a white dog?”
4. “My current dog is too old, can we swap for a puppy or younger model?”
5. “My dog ate the Christmas turkey cooling on the worktop.”
6. “My pet guinea pig got worried with a dog in the house.”
7. “The dog opened all the presents on Christmas Eve.”
8. The owner accidently knelt in dog wee while cleaning it up so brought the dog in the very next day.
9. The puppy was bought as a present for elderly couple with dementia.
10. The owner was paranoid about recent bad press on Staffordshire Bull Terriers, and the dog was given up through no fault of its own.
To help prevent people thoughtlessly buying dogs as Christmas presents, the charity’s 17 Rehoming Centres will stop rehoming dogs from Sunday 21st December to Friday 2nd January in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and from Sunday 21st December to 3rd January in Scotland. People will still be able to visit the centres and reserve a dog, but will not be able to take it home until the New Year.
Dogs Trust carries out rigorous checks to ensure dogs in its care are rehomed for life to responsible families. However, with 16,000 abandoned dogs per year coming through the charity’s doors, and the opening of new stop-and-shop puppy ‘superstores’, people are still taking on the responsibility of dog ownership without enough consideration of what it entails.
Clarissa Baldwin, Dogs Trust Chief Executive, explains:
“The A dog is for life, not just for Christmas slogan is just as relevant today as it was when I created it 30 years ago. Some of the reasons we hear for dogs being abandoned are truly outrageous and saddening. Having a dog is a long-term commitment and our anniversary offers the perfect opportunity to remind people that dogs are not fashion accessories or disposable items that can be upgraded or discarded after just a few months.”
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