Dog charity Hope Rescue braced for £30,000 monthly vet bill

A dog shelter is braced for a £30,000 monthly veterinary bill because of an "explosion" in unscrupulous breeders.

Pontyclun-based Hope Rescue is expecting a traditional spike in unwanted animals post-Christmas.

Such "fake strays" can have complex medical problems because of irresponsible sellers uninterested in animal welfare.

The problem has been made worse by millions of people buying pandemic pets they no longer want.

Hope Rescue staff said an "explosion in backyard breeders" helped create "a perfect storm".

Most "fake strays" arriving at the Welsh charity's door now had medical problems, staff said.

Dogs are known as fake strays when their owners pretend their pets are stray, in order for rescue centres to take them.

In one morning the centre took in an American bulldog abandoned on Bwlch mountain, near Treorchy, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and two puppies dumped in a bin in Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan.

The former had spinal problems, the latter skin trouble.

The charity's Sara Rosser said January was always their busiest month.

"More people get into financial difficulty and then struggle to pay their vets bills," she said.

She added: "This year that's just going to be compounded even further by the issues we are already facing with dogs post-pandemic."

More than three million UK homes have bought pets since the pandemic began, according to the Pet Food Manufacturers Association.

Ms Rosser said: "Our vet bills at the moment are averaging around £20,000 a month, the majority of fake strays coming into us are coming in with medical problems, and that bill does add up."

The Pontyclun centre has been running at capacity since last summer, with more than 130 dogs in their kennels.

Usually it has about 80.

Ms Rosser said: "I can see us reaching £30,000 a month next year, the number of dogs requiring referrals, specialist treatment, these aren't just simple medical problems."

The canine charity's Meg Williams said: "There was such a demand for dogs during Covid, that created a lot more people breeding who had not bred before, and don't necessarily understand the welfare issues."