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THE DUBLIN SOCIETY for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) is urging people not to purchase a pet instead of an engagement ring this Christmas.
Ireland’s largest animal welfare charity said that while many people often consider a pet to be an ideal Christmas gift for someone, these animals can end up being surrendered or abandoned later because the owner was not able to care for them.
“You would be surprised the number of people who surprise their loved one with a puppy or a kitten instead of an engagement ring,” Gillian Bird, head of education at the DSPCA, told The Journal.
“This is the time of the year that a lot of couples have been together for a while, there’s a bit of pressure starting to be felt, people wonder: ‘Are they expecting a ring this year?’. And what happens is people opt for the pet instead.
“We do see a lot of animals that are bought instead of engagement rings, which is actually more of a commitment.
An engagement ring can be given back whereas a pet cannot.
The charity is advising anyone who might be considering giving an animal as a Christmas present to reconsider.
“The person you’re giving the animal to may have mentioned they want a pet, but they may not actually be ready for it,” Bird said.
“That can be anything from a dog, cat, horse, goldfish, snake. Giving pets generally as presents is not a good idea.”
She said that people often tend to forget how much is involved in taking care of an animal, including the cost.
“With dogs, yes, they need exercising and attention, but there’s a lot of other associated costs. You’ve got the cost of food, of veterinary care, of boarding if you’re going away on holidays. There is a lot of hidden associated cost with them,” she said.
“People often say that cats don’t take up much time, but they can take an enormous amount of time. It very much depends on the cash. You can have some cats that sleep all day long and maybe sit in your lap in the evening, and then you can have cats that are full-on and need your attention 24 hours a day.”
The DSPCA usually sees an increase in the number of animals being surrendered in November and December, and this year was no exception, according to Bird.
“We’ve had a constant stream this year of people wanting to surrender animals for lots of different reasons. They’re not puppies or kittens, what they usually are are older animals. Sometimes they’re animals that may be getting on in age, they may be losing their eyesight, they may be deaf, they may be looking like they’re going to need some fairly major veterinary treatment soon,” she said.
“Sometimes they think they’re doing the right thing by saying ‘we’ll rehome the dog, he’ll be able to find a better home’. But if you’re talking about rehoming a ten or 12-year-old dog, that’s not very fair on the animal.”
Bird said that dogs and other animals that are surrendered to the animal shelter after Christmas are often pets that were purchased the previous Christmas, which often makes rehoming them more difficult.
“We would adore it if people came to us straight after Christmas and said: ‘We got a puppy. It was a mistake’, because when animals are young, they’re easy to rehome,” she said.
“Whereas people usually wait until Easter, the summer holidays, the following Christmas – at which point, animals have often developed behavioural issues. They’re not as appealing as a young puppy or a kitten is.”
There are currently 85 dogs in the shelter, which are a mixture of sick and injured strays, cruelty cases and surrendered dogs from owners who could not keep them any longer.
When The Journal visited the DSPCA earlier this year, there were over 100 dogs on a waiting list to be surrendered to the shelter. Currently, the number of dogs on the waiting list stands at 66.
“It’s been a busy year,” Bird said.
“We’re trying to foster as many animals as we can, which will help take pressure off the kennels. That means we can do some maintenance but it also means we’ll have space for the animals that come in over the Christmas period as well.”
For those thinking of getting themselves a pet, Bird said they should think carefully before doing so.
“This is an animal that’s going to be with you for hopefully, up to 18 to 20 years. If you’ve thought long and hard about it and you know that Christmas time is the time that you are going to be able to give the animal a lot of time and attention but also give it time and attention after Christmas, it’s not necessarily not a good time to get an animal.
“It’s all dependent on your circumstances and what you are looking for in a pet. But definitely, buying pets as presents is a no. Rushing out at the last minute thinking: ‘I can’t get the child the toy they really want, I’ll get them a rabbit or I’ll get them a puppy’, that’s what we don’t want.”
Bird recommends against buying an animal and instead going to the DSPCA or their local rescue centre to see if they have the pet they want.
“People forget to come to us if they want a rabbit or guinea pig or a ferret or or even a tortoise as well as dogs and cats,” she said.
“You may end up having to wait a little bit longer to find your perfect pet, or what you think is your perfect pet may not actually be and we can find you something even better and more suitable.”
She said that choosing to go to a rescue centre over purchasing an animal privately means that new owners will have the support of the centre.
“With us, the animals we arrange for them will be neutered by ourselves – sometimes when you get them and sometimes pre arranged afterwards, which is all pre paid for. We’ll tell you as much as we know about the animals, they’ll have their vaccinations and you’ll have our support if you’re having any issues such as dog training or behavioural issues.”
She is also reminding people that they can choose to foster an animal with the shelter over the Christmas period before deciding to adopt.
“They would be taking the animal into their home over the two weeks of Christmas. We’ll give them all the food and all the supplies they need for the animal. They then look after it for the two weeks and bring it back to us after Christmas.
“It’s a really good way to see whether or not having a pet is the right thing for you. A lot of our fosterers who are planning on only taking an animal for a few weeks will end up adopting that animal.”
The charity is currently running its Be a Good Human Campaign in the run-up to the festive season, which includes tips on how to care for your pet this Christmas.
More information is available on the DSPCA’s website.
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If its anything like Occupy Wall Street, fair balls to them.
No better time or place!
Do we want live in a democratic republic or a banktatorship?
Who is in control? One thing is for sure, the government is not.
Kudos lads and lassies. Out the corruption and thievery that threatens all societies the world over.
Well said Don.
I’ll continue to work to pay their dole then! Tried to say it to them when I was in town on Saturday and got a polite ‘meh’ from one of the protesters! Really gets on my nerves!
You’re right they should have engaged with you. I’m assuming that if they got their way (and I hope they do) that they would would try and create a society in which social welfare payments are a thing of the past. As argued by Žižek, social welfare prgrammes simply help to prop up the inherent inequalities which the capitalist system relies upon to survive.
The tax they pay on petrol, oil, food etc., do you pay that too?
Couldn’t agree with you more Ashley.
From passing by the only thing they pay tax on between dole payments are Macbook Pro’s and wireless broadband.
Last month I paid over 900 in taxes and PRSI and when I see ‘protests’ like this of course it’s going to annoy me! They would do much better by going around the streets of Dublin with blankets and food for the homeless! Here’s an idea gives their tents to the homeless it’s getting old at night!
Cold even, autocorrect.
Again, I think the point would be to eradicate homelessness from the ground up which would require some fairly radical structural changes; so not to simply treat the problem but deal with the causes like inequality etc etc. With that in mind surely their own individual social welfare payments are small fry – that is if you consider what could happen if this protest continues, spreads and is ultimately successful.
THE BREADLINE!
multi, ashley tried to tell them that she was payin their dole, and then got annoyed when they said “meh”.
yes, ashley, you are payin for their dole, and youre also payin for da 400,000 other unemployed people.
ah, sure ur also payin for da coppers, da nurses, the ding-dongs in da gubbermint,
hell, the biggest chunk u’ll be payin for is the ecb, imf, bondholders,
u should be annoyed.
wait,,hang on,,,isn’t dat part of what the protesters are on about?
dat people r being robbed?
It must be nice up there on your pedestal. If you’re paying income tax, you’re earning enough to do so. This tells me you haven’t lost your job, had your hours cut to extremes, nor are you working a minimum wage job.
Did you get a degree to get you that nice job you do to pay other people’s dole? Because last I checked, the tax-payers pay all your college fees, not to mention grants.
Good stuff, I like seeing reasoned arguments. Nothing more pathetic than generalisations, none of that here anywho…
You don’t pay my dole, in fact, I don’t get the dole. I’d have noticed the difference if I did when I checked my balance after work today when I was on the way to central bank to spend a few hours showing my support.
What an arrogant comment. Not everyone on the dole is being supported by the sort of pompous, self-righteous ignoramus that specialises in comments like yours. Many have worked hard for many years and… get this… are only getting back what they paid in.
Why don’t you give blankets to the homeless Aishling if you are so concerned about it? Are you out doing so right now on the evening of World Homeless Day or are you just sitting there being a keyboard warrior ?
Fair play to these lads for protesting, I intend to join them for a night this week, others should consider like wise, the banks are beyond a joke at this stage.
del-boy, ya bettar leave a space for da joey, cause i’ll be pitchin me tent
delira dat finally a few bodies in whats left of dis country have seen da scam for what it is
and are makin a stand
ive no time no more for the ‘ im alright jack’ brigade
Joseph I don’t think it’s the case that only a few people in the country have copped on to what’s going on. Most people are perfectly aware of what happened but just feel powerless to do anything about it or simply don’t care. Both are problems and attitudes like yours only help to alienate people.
Ashley is way too busy working to pay for everyone’s dole.
In fairness Reada you can’t dismiss what Ashley says outright, she has a point. However, what I’m trying to propose is that in the larger sturggle for equality and a different society such concerns can be put to oneside somewhat. A bit of middle ground please, thank you.
@ multi. You are right and I love your reasoning. We are all us! Time to stop the "them or us" attitude between ourselves. It’s just that I’m not used to people who sound as reasonable as you do. Thank you
Ah here now I give to charity! I try do my bit! Don’t be going off at me because I had an opinion, voice your own opinion about the situation and get on with your life. I do.
multi attitudes like mine serve only to alienate people?
i have no time for the im alright brigade. do u think im goin to apologize for dat statement?
not on ur nellie.
i am outright ragin wit da injustice of whats bein lumped on de average joe.
me next door neighbour is gonna lose his gaf soon. his kids an mine been playin together
for da last few years. tell u the truth im heartbroken for him.
if some of my comments are a bit cuttin, well, i dont mean to be hurtin others,
but some of the comments from people here is ‘im alright’,
yeah r ya?? hows about some feelin for those who arent alright.
phew…got dat off me chest.
…ill try to be nicer.
I am one of those who has spent three truly mindblowing nights at the camp. I speak only on my behalf here…. I would urge all those who can to visit the camp. Follow #occupydamestreet on twitter. go to livestream.org/occupydamestreet (or temp ustream.com/occupydamestreet)
The support we have received is excellent. thank you for the food, tents and other supplies. lets make this country and this world work RIGHT!
What do you hope to achieve?
Well, for me personally, I think the camp can be a central point of resistance. I have felt utterly unrepresented by the political system. I have consistently voted for change as best I could, however, even when the people who spoke the language of change got in they did the same shit.
This global movement is in it’s infancy, but it is something I have wished for.
It is demanding a better & fairer world for the 99%. No doubt many will criticize that as being too idealistic, but I don’t care what people say, I know it is worth working toward. Many may criticize me for not working, but this is my work and it’s not easy.
It’s on the go constantly and crashing into bed in complete exhaustion, only to have a band strike up or a siren go off, but is also hugely inspiring. This is the Irish front of the global peaceful movement of resistance to the 1% of the planet that own and control the 99%.
would homeless people be allowed erect a campsite on Dame Street? Dont think so
Double standards, the protesters should now protest to ensure homeless people can camp where they want…including outside the homes of the protesters. It’s only fair
Waffler and Barry. Why don’t ye 2 go and deliver blankets to the homeless, or why don’t you visit the sick in hospital, or why don’t you take the dogs in the dog’s home out for a walk. Let the protesters do what they’re doing! Or do ye just love to whine type?
Im fully behind the right to protest, and I do have some admiration for the balls it takes to do this, even if I don’t agree with it.
My concern is that it won’t be long till it gets violent. They can’t stay there forever and it’s only a matter of time before the more extreme protesters arrive or they are forced out by the guards.
Well Ashley, when someone leaves a comment that protesters should be water-cannoned,
you bet your barney I have a look at who or what they are.
So, you’re currently in a job? Genuinely, good for you.
If you were to lose it due to the Gov wrenching money out of the economy to pay back the ECB and IMF,
what would you do about it?
Incidentally, you commenting on my comment could also leave you open to being called a stalker!
I wanna see the water cannoning comment! Was it removed? :-(
I’m now worried about where they go to the toilet after so long.
hey lisa, curious,
is you gettin worried bout where people go to da jacks da sorta thing
dat u normally worry about?
The bankers are probably in the 99%, so it seems pointless talking about the 1% versus the 99%. What we should be looking for is accountability, stronger laws and serious punishments for white collar crime or neglect of responsibilities. I would be more in favour of monetary payback punishments which allow them to continue to work, but heavily penalises future wages until the debt to society, or their institution is paid off with interest or until they pass away.
I think the bankers we’re talking about here is the ones that can’t survive on less than €500,000 per year, not the poor sod behind the counter. Are they in the 1% or the 99%?
I understand that. Does anyone know how much one needs to earn to be in the top 1%? My point is we shouldn’t focus on the 1%. Some people in the 1% bracket may rightly deserve every penny they’ve earned while some in the 99% could do with having their wages reduced. Lets look in more detail at how we reward employees in general, so that we can try to eliminate the rewarding of failure.
The wealthy are in the 1% we are in the 99%.In the US the 1% control 40% of all the wealth
How much of the wealth does the top 2% own? Why are we so fixeated on the 1%. Secondly, some of those who earn the wealth may well deserve it, so having it doesn’t necessarily mean its wrong. The question should be whether one has earned and deserve the money they have accumulated.
I think that we can all agree that those protesting are not in the 1%, they’re definitely in the 99%, maybe they’re in the98%, or the 96%, or 80%, but definitely 99% anyway.
I find it hard to believe that anyone in the top 1% actually deserve it. Those that do the hardest work, the dirtiest work, the most needed charity work…they earn little to nothing. My nan was shocked to learn that the home-help that comes to her mother, that would change her nappies should she need that, earn only €9/hr. If you ask me, it’s the people doing this sort of work that should be the richer in our society.
This protest however is about representing the needs of the little man. Taking back what’s rightfully ours, not giving away our natural resources to the loan-sharks that are the IMF, to then waste that money, propping up “the 1%”
Some of those in the 1% create the companies that give the rest of us jobs, and they have earned much of what they have by intelligence. However there are many more like bankers perhaps who deserve to be in the bottom 1% never mind the top, but talkling about percentages in this regard is pointless. There could be a stronger debate about salary scales across all sectors of society, this would be more helpful
Can anyone tell me, in clear and concise form, what exactly this is all supposed to achieve? And don’t come off with some crap like “yeah we’re bringing down the man, man”. Is it not more likely the case that all that will come of this is a 1 minute clip on Reeling In The Years? Actually maybe not, considering the earthquakes and disasters we’ve had this year, this won’t even register!
I think it’s easy to be cynical about protests like this. Ideally this protest would continue, spread and actually encourage people to become politically active (in the lefty view of things naturally) and help build a fairer society; in a radical way, in a questioning all dogmas and structures way. Demanding accountability regarding the financial collapse of 2008 is just the beginning. But you have to start somewhere. I suppose I should ask if you at least share the views of the people protesting and if so, what would you have them do? What would you have us all do? If anything.
This is the press release, it’s probably way more clear and concise than my understanding.
http://www.facebook.com/notes/occupy-dame-street/occupy-dame-street-press-release-03102011/298752803474749
the idiot who wrote the "poster" in picture 12 has obviously read far too much of Dan Brown’s malarky.. unless they’re going on about their ‘diaper mountain’ or portaloo ‘illumintor’..
Stalker!
I noticed ashley that you told us exactly how much you payed in tax last month (some fairly personal info if you ask most people) yet despite protesting that you “do give to charity,” you never tell us how much you give to charity. Do you make a monthly commitment, or do you just throw some change in the bucket at the supermarket? Do you give enough annually to be able to claim the tax back? Because otherwise you know, that money might be paying someone’s dole (heven forbid).
Oh plus I noticed the ISE took the plaque of their door, might confuse someone!
Love this.
we had a general election in this country earlier this year. why didnt these protesters put their ideas before the electorate and have them judged by secret ballot? if they claim to represent the 99%, surely they have nothing to fear from democracy?
People did – I’ve never seen so many independant candidates than I did on this years ballot paper. The problem is, these people didn’t have the same money for campeigning that the existing tds had. Half the people on the ballot paper, I had never heard of, therefore I wouldn’t vote for them when I don’t know what their ideals or policies are.
True. REAL democracy would be great, woudn’t it? :) However, in Ireland we don’t have real democracy. We vote for the most eloquent lairs. We also have the IMF here dictating what has to be done i.e. setting policy and government strategies. They are an unelected private institution.
At the camp we encourage direct democracy, you can participate in the assemblies at 1pm and 6pm if you wish to have your say there. We do not claim to *represent* the 99%, we claim to be [part of] the 99%.
Speaking for myself, the reasons I did not put my ideas before the people are multiple. One is that the system is slanted toward the status quo. Two is that being an Independent TD is a fairly toothless job. Three is that this type of opposition, that challenges the very roots of the problem is what I was waiting for. Four is that the global market-economic system is so entirely broken that a new one is needed. That is a huge thing to design be yourself and requires many voices.
You’re assuming that people are informed, and have the capacity to become informed, about politics, which is demonstrably not the case.
You also seem to be of the opinion that people who get voted in are obliged to uphold the promises they made to the voters, which is demonstrably not the case.
Finally, you seem to think that putting our ideas before the electorate works, which is (surprise surprise) demonstrably not the case.
have your say