Carole Malone said she was “incandescent with rage” when faced with the data showing a high number of puppies had been abandoned across the UK after being adopted during the two coronavirus lockdowns. The RSPCA said hundreds of pets had been resold or sent to rescue centres after owners failed to cope with the pressure of caring for a puppy months after adopting. Speaking as a panellist to Jeremy Vine on 5, Ms Malone branded the reluctant owners as “selfish” and condemned them for abandoning their pets after failing to consider the needs of the animals.
Ms Malone said: “This story makes me incandescent with rage. I’m not going to pull my punches here.
“This is stupid, unthinking people who bought dogs at the start of the lockdown because they were a bit bored, not understanding that a dog is a 10 to 15-year commitment.
“They bought these dogs and then, after a few weeks, said, ‘actually, I cannot handle it.”
The broadcaster continued: “What they’re doing now is all these rescue centres and pet websites are being flooded with adverts of people saying, ‘the pre-loved dog,’ like they’re a pair of shoes or something.
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“We’re going to have hundreds and hundreds of disturbed, unhappy dogs taken into a home, who believed they were loved, and now they’re being chucked out.
“God knows where they’re going to end up. The rescue centres do their best but they can’t guarantee them homes or even good homes.
“The rescue centres have got enough to do without having to take on these hundreds of people bought by selfish, inconsiderate people not understanding what a dog is like.”
Ms Malone added: “Anyone who’s had a dog understands the first three to five months of their lives are pretty hellish, they’re full-on and you’ve got to do a lot of training but most people who get a dog know that and are prepared.
Some short-sighted buyers admitted to having no time or no money to properly look after their puppies.
One seller in Buckinghamshire said on the advert to sell their six-month-old Spaniel Collie mix: “Unfortunately, due to work commitments now we are no longer able to give him the loving and care he requires and deserves.
The Dogs Trust reported over 1,800 people had got in touch to get information on how to rehome their pups in the past three months, with 114 calls received between December 27 and 28 alone.
Research from the Kennel Club found many of the Britons who adopted during the lockdown to get a companion had failed to consider the long-term implications of looking after a pet.
— to www.express.co.uk
