‘They love the Irish dog’ – Unloved puppies deported to Sweden
Unwanted Dublin dogs are being sent to Sweden and Italy as shelters in the capital are overwhelmed by surrender requests.
Ashton dog pound closed last year and as a result other shelters in Dublin are unable to cope.
While Ireland has a surplus of pets, other countries in Europe have a shortage. Italy and Sweden have stricter dog breeding laws and animal lovers there are keen to adopt unwanted Irish animals.
“Ireland has always produced too many unwanted dogs for the size of our population,” said Pete “The Vet” Wedderburn Newstalk breakfast.
“There are other parts of the world, like Sweden and Italy, where they lack the type of dog that Ireland produces.
“Ireland produces dogs like collies and terriers — those kind of little crosses — and those countries, they don’t have that many of them. So they love the Irish dog.
“While we look at the UK, they tend to produce more types of bull terriers. If you go to the dog rescue centers they are full of bull terriers.
“So people like the Irish taste of dogs – that’s what it’s all about.”
covid-19
During the lockdown, the number of people adopting dogs increased; But when people returned to work, many quickly realized they had made a terrible mistake.
“Unfortunately, when they went back to work, they had less time for dogs,” Wedderburn said.
“Some of them had discovered that keeping a dog was not what they thought. it meant more work and more expense.
“I think, especially with the cost of living crisis going through right now, what a lot of families are finding is that [if] they have a health crisis with their pet, the vet bills can put them in debt.
“Then they worry about it happening again. So I think the message is that before you get a dog, you should budget for what the health costs might be.
“The best way to do that is to get pet insurance and that way you pay €20, €25 a month and if there is a health crisis, your family is not forced into debt.”
![A French bulldog with her litter, who were among 17 puppy farm victims taken in by Dogs Trust Ireland.](https://media.radiocms.net/uploads/2022/08/18071102/FVfrenchies16.jpg)
Madra, an animal shelter serving Galway and Mayo, said a dire combination of the cost of living crisis and housing shortages has forced many people to give up their animals.
“Everyone is struggling in the country,” Madras founder Marina Fiddler told me Newstalk.
“The consequences of covid are really showing now and there is more to come.
“But whatever happens to people also happens to animals. So, if there are more people who are financially distressed or suffer from anxiety or ill health – it all transfers to the pet dogs as well.
“So we’re seeing the results of that now.”
Main Image: Border Collie puppies running around a person’s leg. Image by: Alamy.com