A new Manchester dog rehoming branch is preparing for its first Christmas but have warned the public they won’t be taking on any unwanted animals over the festive period.
While people will still be able to visit the centres and reserve a dog, the charity’s 20 Rehoming Centres will stop rehoming dogs from December 22 to January 2 in an attempt to prevent people from thoughtlessly buying dogs as Christmas presents.
Since it first opened on October 23, Dog’s Trust Manchester has welcomed more than 8,200 visitors and has rehomed 172 dogs.
Dawn Bishop, manager at Dogs Trust Manchester, said: “Our first Christmas Day at the Rehoming Centre will be made as jolly as possible with staff and volunteers wearing tinsel and hats, playing Christmas tunes and spoiling the 88 rescue dogs who will be with us whilst they look for new homes.
“Whilst other people are preparing the turkey, the staff will be hands-on cleaning the kennels and walking the dogs to Christmas music!
“The dogs will have a special Christmas lunch and then after that we will bring out the Santa sacks and shoeboxes filled with toys and gifts sent in from dog lovers all over the country.
“Although the dogs in our care will get the chance to enjoy the festive season, sadly this isn’t the case for hundreds of dogs who are abandoned every Christmas.
“Many pups are discarded soon after being given as presents or older dogs are given up to make way for newer pups and we expect this year to be no different.
“We urge anyone thinking of getting a dog during this busy period to seriously think about the commitment involved before making your decision.”
The charity revealed some of the reasons people give when they return dogs to them:
- “He kept chasing frogs”
- “He looked different after we walked him in the rain”
- “He was too loving and needed too much attention”
- “I’m worried our toddler will copy him and poo in the garden”
- “He’s too playful – we haven’t sat down since we got him”
- “My dog is old and going to die soon”
- “He was scared of the cat next door ”
- “He barks every morning”
- “He wags his tail too much”
- “She seems hungry all the time and follows me around the house”
- “He kept coughing in the night and woke me up”
- “All the puppy did was sleep. We wanted a dog we could play with”
The charity receives nearly 17,000 stray, unwanted and abandoned dogs each year nationwide.
Image courtesy of Christopher Michel, with thanks
