Broke pet owners are surrendering their animals to the NSPCA because they cannot afford the “huge spike in veterinary costs”. 

On Moncrieff, NSPCA Chief Inspector Conor Dowling said the organisation currently has a waiting list of some 400 people who want to give up their dog. 

He said there are a “variety of reasons” - such as behaviour or bereavement - why a pet owner would want to do so. 

However, the cost is very often a factor. 

“Vet bills are expensive and they're going up all the time more than other rates of inflation,” he explained. 

“We don't know exactly, there's no standardised prices here in Ireland. 

“But there was a study done in the UK that found in the six years leading up to 2023, there was a 63% increase in the cost of vet fees.

“So, that's quite a dramatic increase.”

Yorkshire terrier dog in the sun with flowers. Picture by: byAZ3 / Alamy. 

Mr Dowling  said this means a “represents a huge spike in veterinary costs”, especially given other day to day costs have also increased. 

“We've seen a number of incidents where inspectors have responded to those calls and found people have something wrong with their dog or whatever animal it might be, and they can't afford the veterinary care,” he said. 

“Sometimes all they want to do is for us to take it away to make sure that it gets the care.”

Main image: A dog at the vet's. Picture by: Alamy.com.