Struggling Plymouth animal shelter 'can’t afford' to take on any more pets

• Watch Claire Manning's report

An animal shelter in Devon says it’s having to reduce the number of dogs and cats it can care for due to rising costs.

Gables Dogs and Cats Home on the outskirts of Plymouth, says its electricity bill has gone up from 25 thousand pounds a year, to a predicted 90 thousand pounds for 2023.

It said that last year it cost £800,000 to run the shelter, but says to stay afloat this year, it predicts it’ll cost more than a million to cover food, electricity, vet bills and wages.

Money it had hoped to spend on replacing kennels will instead be spent on running costs.

The shelter’s manager Claire Sparkes said: “It just means we can’t help as many animals as we’d normally like to but we focus on quality over quantity now.

“It has been one of the hardest things we’ve ever faced, it's hard to say no especially when you know that something bad might happen to that animal, that really plays heavily on your mind and keeps you awake at night.”

The shelter now looks after a smaller amount of animals old and young, including Peugeot, a former racing greyhound who’s often overlooked by visitors.

Sophie Jones, care assistant at the shelter said: “A lot of people see puppies and are absolutely in love with them and because Peugeot is a greyhound, he has been here a while and has been overlooked because he is not a fluffy puppy.

"It's sad because Peugeot is a lovely boy, he loves to have a play in the paddock, loves a cuddle and is looking for his forever home where he can snuggle up on the sofa."

Additionally, the charity says it’s also having to care for an increasing number of puppies, as pet owners turn to breeding their pets to make money.

Manager Claire warns of the dangers of looking at unneutered pets as a source of income.

She said: “We’ve taken in more puppies than we ever have in our history, there seems to be a lot of breeding going on, a lot of people trying to make money from animals and a lot of people not able to take on puppies because of the cost of living.

“Puppies that used to be quite easy to rehome are now a bit more difficult to home, the market is saturated with puppies coming in from abroad, it’s a risk to put your dog through breeding.

Gables says it will never give up on helping animals but it needs everyone to think carefully before buying or breeding an animal.