Ruff times expected at county pound

CLARE’S County Pound is gearing itself up for an extremely busy start to the New Year.
According to county dog warden Frankie Coote, “People have been calling us about unwanted dogs and we have been encouraging them to hold on to them over the Christmas period if possible. We are expecting it to get really busy here over the next few weeks. On average we have anything up to 15 dogs a week come into us as strays, and another 15 that are brought in to us by owners who are unable to keep their animals. We are being put under an awful strain here.”
Mr Coote highlighted that one of the major concerns regarding animal welfare, particularly in recent weeks, is people leaving their pets when travelling away from home.
“This is something that comes up a lot over the Christmas, and also when people go away in the summer. People going away and leaving their animals either unattended or leaving them in the care of people who mightn’t be looking after them properly has been one of our biggest problems over the Christmas.
“We had two dogs brought into us who ended up getting out and chasing sheep in the Newmarket area and we’ve had no success yet in contacting their owners as they are away,” he said.
He advised that pet owners explore the possibility of boarding kennels if they are planning a trip away from home. If people are leaving their animals at home, he urged that they make sure their pets are secure and that they are being left in the care of a responsible adult.
“It might also be a good idea to let us know if you are leaving your animal in somebody else’s care while you are away and to give us contact details. That way if there is any issue and somebody gets in touch with us about the animal, we know who to contact. We’ve had a few people do that in recent years and it’s been great. It’s important that these animals are well cared for while their owners are away, after all they can’t speak for themselves,” he suggested.
He has high praise for members of the public who have been supportive of the pound’s work over the Christmas. “This is the second year that people have been very helpful to us. We had a few pups dropped into us and people have been great in looking after them for me. I’m really appreciative of the help we’ve been getting here,” he concluded.