As more dogs are being given up after the lockdown in Cardiff, local organisations are seeking new homes for them.
More pet dogs are being given up by people after lockdown，a local organisation called Cardiff Dogs Home is offering to help find new homes for these dogs.
Many people tended to adopt pet dogs during the lockdown since most people cannot work outside of their home due to the restriction which not only brought trouble to many people but also more leisure time. However, after the lockdown , people are going back to work, many of them realized they do not have enough time to pet their dogs and most of them decided to give up thier pet dogs. Cardiff Dogs Home, a local organization is now dealing with this issue.
“We’re prepared for this as people started to adopt more dogs during the pandemic, which made us realize more dogs could be coming into us. Maybe about a year is when it all started…now we have such an influx of dogs coming in,” said Luca Colla, a staff in Cardiff Dogs Home.
The Cardiff Dogs Home is supported by The Rescue Hotel and it aims to help the dogs in many ways. But as more dogs come in, they are now mainly working on finding new homes for these dogs.
“We take in both sort of stray dogs in the Cardiff and working on finding new homes for them in seven days, and if no one comes forward then it calls for rehabbing. We also take in dogs if someone can’t take care of his dog anymore because of maybe illness or it’s not going on household anymore,” said Luca Colla, a staff member at Cardiff Dogs Home.
There are more than 40 dogs in their place currently, even more than 50 in two weeks ago, and they are facing a serious issue of space.
“We got 40 kennels on the main block and then four big ones out there. And then occasionally, we’ll have dogs in crates in the back rooms or we’ve got a like sort of cabin. just two weeks ago, we have 50 dogs in including all the extra ones out in the cabin in the block of that. So yes, we are struggling to space,” said Luca Colla.
Cardiff Dogs Home started fundraising for new kennels, and also some dogs are now being taken care of by volunteers temporarily while the kennels are full, but there is still a waiting list for dogs that need a home.
“I do walk dogs here for seven years. When I retire, I want you to do something useful with my time,” said Jude, a volunteer in Cardiff Dogs Home “During the last two years, I met a lovely dog, she had a history of cancer so she was here for a very long time and nobody wanted to adopt her. I got very fond of this dog, so I adopted her and she’s now been with me for two years.”
They are not just offering help as volunteers, the local community is also fundraising for dogs, according to Jude, a volunteer at the shelter. However, even with the help of the local community and support of The Rescue Hotel’s funding, they are still having a hard time. Despite the fact that more kennels are being built, the main issue is that people are still giving up their dogs.
“We are raising awareness for how all dogs are being brought to us because they’re adopted during the pandemic because people have more time, and now we’ve had quite an influx of people looking to sign dogs over to us,” said Luca Colla.