Halfway Home Dog Rescue in Collingham highlights the importance of treating a dog as a family member and not a present during Christmas
Under the festive stress and impulsivity, the idea of getting a puppy for loved ones sounds like a dream, however, it can be a dog’s worst nightmare.
With just a few days left until Christmas, the hunt for the perfect Christmas present increases and a dog rescue centre highlights that dogs should not be a present, but a new member of the family.
Halfway Home Dog Rescue in Collingham, which has been operating since 2005, has decided to not accept or let people adopt dogs throughout December due to the post-festive increase in dog abandonment.
Jo Plummer, manager at the dog rescue, said: “A dog is a living thing, it’s got rights, it’s got feelings, they feel pain, they feel abandonment, and they feel sadness.
“We see emotions in dogs so I don’t agree with the present thing, I think that if everyone in the family has agreed with all of it then go for it, but not everyone is ready to have a dog.
“Somebody might want a dog, but they might not be ready themselves to have a dog at Christmas, they might want one after they've been on holiday or something later in the year.
“In the past, we've known owners who have got the dogs as a present for the children, which I hate.
“I don’t like that because people should get the dog for the family, not just for the children because when they lose interest in the poop picking and the walking and all of that, then they haven't got time for the dog.”
Halfway Home Dog Rescue launched in April 2005 by Valerie Hosegood, 72, in support of another dog rescue, to hold dogs coming from "death row" situations in northern pounds.
In December 2005, she started homing dogs for another rescue with a lot of success, however, they then decided that they no longer needed Valerie’s rescue help.
In May 2006, Valerie decided to rehome dogs directly from their own kennels in Collingham.
Halfway Home Dog Rescue’s first official dog was Harvey, a police dog that didn’t know whether to bite a burglar or the dog handler.
The majority of the dogs are strays from Eastern European countries or crisis situations in the pound, however, sometimes they rehome former pets from homes in the UK as they believe that dogs need love and in return, with some patience and care, the new owner will also receive infinite love.
The rescue home also provides rehabilitation services to dogs as some of them used to live on the streets in their home country or may have never been in a home before.
Jo started volunteering at the rescue centre five years ago, just two days after her dog Kyla died, as she wanted to be close to dogs during her grief.
A year later, she started working full-time at the rescue and now five years on, she wants to raise awareness of how intense the Christmas period can be for a dog, be it about the noise or the temporary idea of love that switches once the festive period is over.
Often, dogs are rescued from the kennels and taken to warm houses where they are cosy and loved. However, it takes time for them to adjust and some new dog owners don’t understand the complications that come with adopting a dog, leaving many to decide to return them to the cold of the kennels rather than working with them.
As dogs take their time to settle into the new owners’ lives, being brought to a new home during the Christmas period can be nerve-racking for the pet as most people experience big family get-togethers, children screaming and running and a lot of health hazards, be it from presents or food and drinks.
Jo added: “We don't want them doing it as an impulse thing for Christmas, if they see a dog that they like and if the dog's still here after Christmas, then they can come and view it.
“We have too many people saying things like ‘I want it for my daughter as a present for their birthday’ and it is the same with Christmas — they want it for the children and a lot of people aren't researching the work involved.
“They want a nice family Christmas and they want a dog or a little puppy there, but I wish you could do that thing where people do pictures of expectations versus the reality of owning a dog.
“Also if they've been at home with the dog for two weeks, then suddenly the dog's left alone and then the dog starts ripping stuff up because it's been with the family for two weeks.
“They say it takes about three days for the dog to get used to you, three weeks to get used to your routine and everything, and then three months possibly to settle in.
“A lot of people aren't doing the research into dogs, especially at the moment.”
For years now, the Christmas school holidays and the following couple of months have seen a lot of dog abandonment, be it as people make the rushed decision of getting a dog or because they are trying to be free for the Christmas holidays and get rid of their own pets.
Charities, such as Halfway Home Dog Rescue, which is a non-registered charity, has seen an increase in dogs being dumped or sent to centres prior to and post-Christmas.
Jo added: “I think the biggest thing at the moment, it always used to be like at Christmas because people obviously, a lot of people want the pups and they want the younger dogs and everything, but I think it's a more financial matter at the moment, but maybe that's worse because it is Christmas as well.
“All holidays are bad times for the dogs being abandoned, but I think a lot of it now is more around COVID and everything.
“When I started here, we used to have a lot of people ringing up wanting dogs at Christmas, but now I notice that the phone is also quieter during this period — I think a lot of it is a financial side and maybe people are trying to think ahead.”
To avoid adding additional stress for the dogs if they have to be returned, the rescue centre aims to rehome the dogs through the home-from-home scheme, which sees the dog remain at the current owner’s home until a new home and owner are found to prevent them from coming back to the kennels.
Jo said: “Seeing dogs who got used to being in a centrally heated house, and then people want them to come back to a kennel, is another reason why we don't let people foster dogs so if a dog does have to come back, we try and rehome it home from home.
“That way, it doesn't have to come back to kennels because of the stress of coming back to kennels, the noise, they might have past issues with kennels, they might've been attacked in kennels.
“All that people think about is how they can't cope with it, but they don't think about how the dog's going to cope with it.
“They are giving up the dog because they can't manage, but they're not thinking about the welfare of the dog or how the dog's going to cope with it mentally and emotionally and it can set them right back as they were just gaining their confidence back.”
All the dogs are health checked, microchipped, de-fleed, wormed, and if needed given their first vaccinations and also neutered.
They will be trained to walk on a lead and let people approach and catch them and where needed, dogs scared of car travel will be trained.
People who wish to adopt a dog responsibly can contact the centre on 0780 8003152 between 11am to 3pm or visit their website’s adoption page to find more details and photos.
The rescue relies on a limited number of staff and volunteers, and as a non-registered charity, their costs are met through donations and fundraising activities such as open days, kennel and resident dog sponsorship, grants and sales from their shop.
The centre also has an Amazon wishlist of items that they use regularly to care for and provide enrichment for the dogs in their care.
This Christmas, Jo’s message to wannabe dog owners is: “If you are thinking of adopting a dog around this time of year, please do your research, do your research on the breed and do this any time of the year, but particularly at Christmas.
“Think about if you are to have a busy household, then leave it until after Christmas as it can be too much for the dogs, but if you have a nice, quiet household then it isn’t as bad.
“If you have got children running around and family opening presents, it can get really noisy so don’t be admired if they start barking.
“Another thing to keep in mind is to watch the foods as some different foods are toxic to dogs and stuff under the tree, such as presents and chocolate.
“If you decide to adopt a dog then remember that it is a living thing with emotions and not just a present or entertainment, it should be part of your family.”
