Pets are for life not just for Christmas but every year thousands of animals are returned to the Dog and Cats Home in Dublin.
Cats, dogs, donkeys and horses are all victims of the Christmas present syndrome. The problem has become so bad that the Dogs and Cats Home is now refusing to sell puppies and kittens over the Christmas period. The Home is also launching a campaign to educate people on how to properly care for their pets.
No puppies or kittens will be sold from the home as Christmas presents
Education Campaign on Caring for Pets
Basset breeder and Chairman of the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) Charles Mitchel is backing this educational campaign. Mitchel makes his plea to not give pets as Christmas gifts saying,
Every year, as soon as school starts, we get literally hundreds of unwanted pets, beautiful for Christmas but then the kids go back to school and there's nobody left to look after them except the unfortunate mother and she's got enough to do.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 23 December 1985. The reporter is Kieron Wood.
