Dog Care Crisis Warning from Dogs Trust
The Dogs Trust is distraught in reporting that in recent weeks they have come across many cases of people who are struggling with the costs of being a dog owner, such as buying food, paying dog insurance and veterinary treatments.
The Dogs Trust are seeing an increase in numbers of dogs needing re-homing because people have lost their jobs and homes in the credit crunch and can no longer afford to offer their dogs the essentials in their lives.
However, owning a dog does not have to be expensive, and there are a variety of ways that enable you to the cost of ownership down. Some of these ways include:-
• Bulk-buying food for your dog, although its more money upfront, in the long term it works out cheaper, as feeds will last longer so you are paying out less frequently.
• Feeding dry biscuits rather than tinned food. Tinned foods work out very expensive. Try offering your dog dry biscuits. If they won’t entertain dry biscuits, try mixing some gravy with the biscuits to give a bit of extra taste.
• Keep up with Dog Insurance premiums. Insurance may seem expensive but remember that any veterinary fees can be a lot lot more. Would you rather pay £20 - £40 a month or £1,000’s in treatment costs.
Dogs Trust would be much happier if dog owners were able to keep their dogs. They know how important our dogs are to us, how loved they are and how much they are ‘one of the family’, so in the spring of 2009 they are launching a “Lets with Dogs campaign”. This is the with the hope of encouraging landlords and letting agents to accept tenants with dogs for those who are forced to move into rented accommodation.
The Dogs Trust is always available to offer advice and assistance where it can.
Anyone struggling to care for their dog in the current economic climate should contact them at 0207 837 0006.
Visit The Dogs Trust website: www.dogstrust.org.uk
