Staff at a Merseyside kennels are having to turn dogs away after an "influx" of arrivals in recent weeks has left them close to breaking point.
Birkenhead Kennels, on Corporation Road, told the ECHO they are "struggling" with increased demand and have seen 10 new dogs arrive in the last week alone. On Tuesday (September 13), one man left a dog tied to a bin outside and dog welfare assistant, Sarah Brown, said "heartbreaking" scenes like this are becoming increasingly common.
Sarah said: “A man came up asking for assistance for one of his friend's dogs that he’d brought down that morning. Sadly, when we said we were full and weren’t in a position to help, he tied a dog to one of the bins outside and drove off leaving the dog stranded and looking a bit bewildered and confused about the situation.
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“It was awfully hectic that morning. We’d already had a stray come in so with that on top of it, as well as all the dogs we were already catering for, it was a lot of pressure and it pulled on our heart strings.
"The dog looked so lost and so confused and he wasn’t in a good condition with its nails and skin so it was another heartbreaking case.”
Birkenhead Kennels predominantly caters for strays however they recently started accepting occasional handovers in a bid to help more dogs in the area. However, with the kennels now operating at full capacity, staff have said they are not prepared to put other dogs at risk.
Sarah told the ECHO: “The dog that was left outside is here now. He’s had his nails cut and he’s having a bath soon. He’s been vaccinated and he’ll continued to be seen to by staff over the next few days. We’ll make sure fed, he’s he’s loved and gets everything he need.
“There’s a combination of various different reasons (people are leaving their dogs). We’re seeing it a lot possibly due to the cost of living having a knock on effect."
Sarah has also attributed the increasingly challenging cirusmtances to people's hours changing after the pandemic and dogs behavioural issues being left untreated. Addressing people who are looking to bring their dogs into the kennels, Sarah said: “Please don’t, in the nicest way. We want to be there to help people but we can’t fit anymore dogs in.
"We’re really struggling and we’re trying to get the dogs rehomed as safely and responsibly as possible."
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