Surrendered Dublin dogs are being rehabilitated in Sweden and Italy – The Irish Times
Dogs from Dublin are being sent as far afield as Sweden and Italy in efforts to rehome animals following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and the closure of the Ashton Dog Pound.
Almost 1,000 dogs have been delivered to the new Dublin county and city shelter in the past year following the closure of the Dublin 15 pound, which had been providing animal shelters for Dublin local authorities.
Ashton closed last year after Gardaí opened an investigation into animal welfare issues at the facility. A number of people are before the court. The Workplace Relations Commission earlier this month ordered the former pound to pay €18,000 in compensation to a dog warden it found was subject to retaliation for raising concerns about alleged animal abuse.
The closure of the pound has coincided with an exceptionally busy period for animal welfare services and charities. The advent of the Covid-19 pandemic saw an increase in pet ownership with many dog boarding facilities opening waiting lists for animals due to demand.
But the lifting of movement restrictions and the return to workplaces has seen an increase in people surrendering their dogs to animal shelters, with organizations reporting an increase in unwanted animals, particularly larger and older dogs.
The new Dublin County Dog Shelter, at Hollygrove near Newcastle, has been caring for dogs on behalf of South Dublin, Fingal and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for the past year. It has taken in more than 750 dogs in its first year of operation and has managed to find homes for around 600.
“The relocation rate is high — the recycling rate could be better but there’s not much we can do about it,” said Emily Nash, assistant shelter manager.
When stray dogs are brought to the facility by caretakers, every effort is made to identify the owners, she said, with special attention on social media for lost pets. But she said some owners often don’t want to be found.
In almost all cases, the shelter will find new homes for the dogs or transfer them to animal rescue charities. The shelter has had to euthanize only six animals in the past year, mostly for medical reasons.
“We work with quite a few rescues,” she said. “They usually help us with dogs that are more difficult to rehome due to behavioral issues or medical issues. Ever since Covid, the rescues are extremely full and can’t take as many dogs as they would like, but the dogs they take they find good homes for and we are very grateful.”
Dogs from Dublin have been rehabilitated all over Ireland, and even further afield, she said.
“We’ve rehabilitated dogs as far as Dingle and Achill Island. We get lovely updates from owners with photos we share on social media,” she said. “We’ve even sent dogs to Sweden and Italy where it’s harder to get them.” dog because they don’t have stray dogs over there due to stricter laws. We get lots of photos from them and it’s great to see them enjoying their new homes.”
Dublin City Council has been running a separate facility in Hollygrove on a temporary basis since Ashton’s closure, but plans to develop a new shelter, said Fianna Fáil councilor Deirdre Heney, who chairs the council’s animal welfare committee.
“Dublin City Council is aiming to have our own council kennel somewhere closer to the city,” she said.
The Animal Protection Unit remained concerned about the abuse of dogs both through illegal dog breeding facilities and neglect by owners.
“We want to make sure that animals are not abused in our city, and that we don’t have dogs that are left to roam, dogs that are not taken care of and dogs that are lost.”
The council had achieved considerable success in rehoming dogs since the start of this year, she said.
“To date this year we have had 226 dogs in our shelter, 126 of which have been sent to charities and 75 of which have been returned to their owners, and a large number of dog licenses have been issued. It is a very positive story for animal welfare in municipal council and we hope to set a good example.”
A council spokeswoman said it will issue a new tender for kennel services in the middle of next year.
The county dog shelter has around 35 dogs looking for homes and can be contacted via the Dublin County Dog Shelter Facebook page.
“We want to remind people that when you adopt a dog, they need time to settle in and they’re not going to be this perfect dog overnight. It takes time and training,” Nash said.
“Most of the time, they go from being in a home to the street, to then sitting in a van on the way to the shelter, to being in the shelter for a few days, weeks or months, to a new home. It can be a very confusing time for a dog.”