A dog is for life, including when you’re on holiday!
Every Christmas season we see bumper stickers, posters, social media posts and even street art – just like the one below – urging prospective dog owners to think twice before they purchase a puppy. Unfortunately though, for the UK’s nearly nine million dogs, being abandoned is not just a post-Christmas problem.
In fact, last summer, around 400 pets were abandoned or put into charity care every single week. This staggering number suggests there’s a summer surge in dog abandonment, sadly due to some owners leaving their dog behind while they go away on their sunny holidays abroad.
While most dog owners manage to find a dog sitter to take care of their dog during the summer holidays, more than half of the UK dog owners we surveyed, admitted that their dog had actually stopped them from taking a break or holiday at all.
For those arranging care for their dog while they’re away, 47% people book dog care at the same time as booking their own vacations, whereas 10% booking dog care a week before they depart, and an astounding 2% only booking on the day they go away!
The scale of this problem becomes even more surprising when you consider that just over 25% of us in the UK own a dog, and 70% of Brits plan to travel abroad this summer – spending a whopping £1,000 on average, per week per person.*
With all these terrible statistics in mind, we took to the airwaves this week to lend our voices to the cause. Teaming up with Wood Green – an animal welfare charity – we got our radio voices all warmed up to encourage dog owners to consider where their dog will be spending their holiday before booking their own.
If you were tuned into a regional UK radio station this week, you might’ve heard us promoting cage free holidays for dogs around the UK. But if you missed it, you can listen right here by clicking play below.
Want to join the cause?
Are you planning a well-earned holiday this summer? Then why not treat your dog to a cage free holiday by booking them a trusted dog sitter with DogBuddy?
*Sources: www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/, http://www.pfma.org.uk/pet-population-2015