Pet Abandonment During Holiday Periods.

Pets Abandoned When People Go On Holiday.

Many people include their pets in family holidays. Those unable to, will have the foresight and responsibility to book their dog into somewhere such as Holidays4Dogs – where their pet can stay in the comfort of an experienced, dog-loving host family.  Sadly, however, pet abandonment during holiday periods in the UK, has been on the rise in recent years. There is an alarming number of people who dump their dog into rescue centres, or worse on the street, so they can go off on holiday. Read on to find out more.

It’s a common belief that the majority of pet abandonment cases happen just after the Christmas period. This does happen, but there are also other key times in the calendar when the rise in the number of abandoned dogs is notable.

The RSPCA claim that, the summer months are actually their busiest period when it comes to pet abandonment. In 2016, the RSPCA revealed that owners were dumping dogs before their summer holidays at the rate of one per hour. These are alarming figures.

In the past the RSPCA have reported huge spikes in the number of people abandoning their pets during the school summer holidays. Battersea Dogs Home reported similar cases of people handing animals in over the summer period.

Some of these cases were attempts by people to use the centre for free dog care. Thus, one person would hand the dog in and, a week later, someone else would return to reclaim it. This is a situated that  has been reported in the media with Battersea Dogs Home reporting people are pretending their dog is a stray.

Pet owners have a legal duty of care to make sure the welfare of their animals is catered for. This includes making sure someone suitable is available to take care of their pet in their absence. Budgeting for holiday care, or for other eventualities, should always be a high priority when taking on a new pet.

Holidays4Dogs has a nationwide team of dedicated carers who will look after your dog for a few days or a few weeks. The daily rate is very reasonable for complete peace of mind; knowing your dog will be well cared for and loved while you are away.

The reasons why people abandon their pets are perplexing, even to animal welfare workers themselves. It could be that people who bought pets at Christmas find that, by the summer, the novelty has worn off.

Dogs are not always given over to rescue charities. Some animals are dumped in the countryside and streets. In other cases, owners simply abandon their dogs home alone – leaving a pile of food and a bowl of water.

Leaving pets to fend for themselves in the streets, or at home, poses serious welfare risks and puts rescue charities under further strain.

The RSPCA urges the public to be vigilant regarding abandoned pets in their neighbourhoods.