With one week until Christmas, animal welfare charity All Dogs Matter is issuing an urgent warning: the organisation is now receiving around 30 calls every day from people wanting to give up their dog before the festive season.

Kennels across London are full, rescue charities are overwhelmed, and even well-intentioned dog owners are calling in desperation as they realise they cannot cope with the dogs they have purchased.

Many of these dogs were originally bought online, often as puppies from unscrupulous breeders who misrepresented breed types and concealed serious behavioural or health issues. By the time these dogs reach adolescence, owners find they are unable to manage them, especially with Christmas visitors, travel and the change in household routine over the holidays.

“This year we’ve seen heartbreaking numbers of people trying to surrender their dogs in December,” said Ira Moss, CEO of All Dogs Matter. “People are opening their homes for Christmas, only to feel they can’t cope with a dog that hasn’t been trained properly, has developed behavioural issues, or simply no longer fits their lifestyle. What started as an impulse online purchase often ends in panic and the dogs are the ones who suffer.”

Many of the dogs that All Dogs Matter is asked to take in have already been through multiple homes, leaving them anxious, traumatised and often in poor health.

“If more people contacted reputable rescue charities before acquiring a dog, these animals wouldn’t be passed around like unwanted Christmas gifts,” added Moss. “By the time dogs reach us, they are often unsocialised, frightened or in need of expensive veterinary treatment. It’s a nationwide crisis that escalates at Christmas and continues well into the new year.”

All Dogs Matter was recently chosen as one of the animal charities benefiting from Ricky Gervais’s £2.4 million Christmas donation, which recognised the vital work carried out by rescue organisations nationwide.

All Dogs Matter is urging the public and media outlets to highlight this growing problem and to encourage anyone considering a dog to seek proper advice, avoid online impulse purchases, and never abandon a pet simply because Christmas is approaching.

Email: jo@alldogsmatter.co.uk

Tel: 020 8341 3196