Abandoned dogs on the increase in Clare

TWENTY dogs are abandoned each week in County Clare, according to local ISPCA dog warden, Frankie Coote.  He says the current economic recession is influencing the increasing number of dogs being abandoned each week across the county.

Mr Coote also warns of the county’s poor reputation for animal welfare as it continues to hold the worst  record in Ireland for cases of abandonment.
“It is perceived that the current economic climate is the root cause of the number of dogs being abandoned by owners, however, it must be remembered that County Clare has held the worst record in Ireland for animal abandonment for the past 20 years,” Mr Coote said.
Despite the county’s poor animal welfare record, the current rececession is playing a major role in the increasing cases of animal abandonment.
“It is quite understandable that people are unable to afford the cost of caring for their pets in these tough economic conditions, but abandoning them on the side of the road is not necessary,” he said.
With 20 dogs abandoned each week in  Clare, Mr Coote has appealed to people struggling to provide for their pets to contact him or their local animal welfare service. He added, “There will be no charge for handing over the animals providing the circumstances are proved to be genuine.”
Abandoned dogs are kept by Mr Coote for five days allowing owners the opportunity to reclaim their pet, after which time the animal is rehoused in a suitable home.
Re-homing abandoned animals is no easy task. “Fewer and fewer people are willing to take on the finincal obligation of housing an animal so it is becoming a lot more difficult to find suitable homes for these abandoned dogs,” he said.
The reality has resulted in animal welfare services having to find alternative methods of re-housing abandoned pets. Last year alone, 400 dogs from the Ennis Dog Pound were sent to the United Kingdom as attempts to rehouse them locally failed.
“It is becoming difficult to rehouse all the dogs coming through the doors of the pound, but we work together with the ISPCA and other great animal welfare charities to find the best possible solution to the problem,” Mr Coote added.