Charity rescues four dogs from 'death row' as unwanted animals soar

A pet charity in Somerset says rejected lockdown dogs and the cost of living crisis means many of the animals are being put down by pounds because there is nowhere for them to go.

Local authorities are legally allowed to put animals to sleep if, after seven days, they’re not claimed and can’t be sent to a rescue centre.

St Giles Animal Rescue, which is based near Taunton, is set to take in four dogs this week which were due to be killed at a pound.

Jack Linnell, director of the centre, said they have a large number of unwanted dogs at the moment, saying: "We’re just inundated. We’re up from last year 10% on our rehoming figures, which is not ideal. We were busy last year, this year seems like it’s going to be a busy year for us."

The huge number of dogs in rescue centres is leading to a sad situation. Dog pounds are finding it harder to find room at places like St Giles for strays, leading them to put some down. St Giles is rescuing four from being killed this week, but many others won’t be so lucky.

Mr Linnell said: "Up until recently a lot of the rescues have been taking in ‘poundies’ and they are able to do that but only if they’ve got space themselves in the rescue and, at the moment, a lot of the rescues are chock-a with long-term dogs that they’re struggling to rehome."

Senior rehoming coordinator Gemma Power said a 'perfect storm' in recent years has led to the current situation.

She said: "Obviously lockdown - we’ve been getting the three to four year-old dogs coming in and, unfortunately, now we’re having the cost of living so that’s been a massive surge for us for why we’re seeing so many dogs coming in."

In the vets at St Giles there’s a steady line of strays being spayed and neutered to get them ready for rehoming.

The charity hopes that will happen soon so it can keep up with the growing demand for space and prevent more dogs from being put down.