‘Dismal’ situation at overcrowded kennels

2:04pm Monday 12th May 2008

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OVERFLOWING dog kennels in the city have left council officials pleading for pet-lovers to come forward and give a dog a home.

Four dogs have been put down in two days last week at the council's dog unit and the dire situation is set to get worse - unless the animals crowding the centre are found another home.

Previously, The Press has reported how The RSPCA and animal shelters in and around York have been inundated with calls from panicked pet owners wanting to re-home their animals or have their pets put to sleep.

The RSPCA says the situation is linked to the credit crunch - the fact that people are unable to get mortgages approved or struggle to cope with rising interest rates and fuel and food prices.

Jill McGregor, the senior animal health officer at City of York Council said the city's full animal centres have had a "knock-on" effect at the council's dog unit. At the moment, 15 dogs at the council's dog unit need a home. The overcrowded centre has meant in the last two days alone four dogs have had to been put down.

Ms McGregor fears with more dogs expected at the weekend, that the numbers of dogs put to sleep will surge.

She says the already "dismal" situation will worsen unless responsible people step forward and offer dogs a home.

"This is a knock-on effect from other animal centres in and around York struggling with overflowing kennels," she said.

"All the animal centres are struggling with pet owners wanting to drop off their dogs and the centres can not cope. Pet owners are turning to the council to help, but our centre is only equipped to house 12 dogs - at the moment we have 15 - so we are already too full. We are expecting more dogs at the weekend and if responsible people who can offer dogs a caring and loving home don't come forward soon we are going to have to put more dogs down."

Ms McGregor said in her 13 years working at the unit, she has never seen so many dogs at the centre.

"It has never been this bad," she said. Normally, we house half the amount of dogs that we are currently looking after and we cannot cope."

She said that, like the RSPCA, she thinks that the surge in people getting rid of their pets could be due to the credit crunch.

"Pet owners seem to be suffering from the credit crunch and the animal centres are falling victim to this," she said.

If you want to help give a dog a home, call the council's animal health unit on 01904551530.