'The cost of living crisis is no excuse' - Dorset dog charities plead not to abandon animals

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A dog rescue centre in Dorset is pleading with owners not to abandon their animals, as another dog charity says it has no more space to accommodate unwanted dogs.

Both dog homes say they are still being offered dogs bought during lockdown which are no longer wanted.

At Waggy Tails, near Wimborne, they say it's not been this busy for a very long time and now have no more space to home dogs.

So instead they're doing what they can to help people keep their dogs in their existing home.

Virginia Roberts, from Waggy Tails Rescue, said: "People have been very generous donating food so we do have food that we can help out with. We give it to food banks and we give it to other rescues so if you are struggling in that way please let us know and we'll do what we can."

Many of the dogs that have recently arrived at Waggy Tails were bought by their owners during lockdown and are no longer wanted.

And it's the same at Margaret Green Animal Rescue near Bere Regis which at the moment does have some spare capacity.

Lucy Hooper, from Margaret Green Animal Rescue, said: "We think that because of the age of the animals we are getting, primarily between 2 to 3 years old, it's likely these dogs were taken on during lockdown and perhaps didn't get the socialisation they need during that adolescent period of their life and the behavioural problems that come as part of that we are now having to tackle when they come into our rescue."

The charity says the cost of living crisis is no excuse for owners to allow their animals to get into this sort of state.