As the festive season begins, animal sanctuaries are raising funds and making preparations for the unfortunate influx of gifted puppies left at their door once the celebrations end.
Rosalind Agius, the sanctuary manager of the Association for Abandoned Animal (AAA), told Times of Malta that the shelter took in around 25 puppies last January.
Likewise, Fabio Ciappara, the president of the dog sanctuary Noah’s Ark, said that every January they take in around 12 puppies, even though they receive calls to take in many more.
Mr Ciappara said that to prevent dogs in his shelter from being abandoned again, the shelter stops homing puppies in December and sometimes even in November.
Apart from the harm it causes the animals, abandoned gift-puppies also increase the costs at the animal sanctuaries.
People need to realise before they purchase an animal that it should be for life
To ease its financial burden the AAA is appealing to people’s Christmas spirit and asking for Christmas donations such as flea treatment, wet and dry dog food, and old blankets and towels.
“We are a country that abandons animals. Every Christmas, year after year, people go out and buy puppies to give as gifts and come January, or a few months later, they get rid of them,” she continued.
“People need to realise, before they purchase an animal, that it should be for life. They abandon their pets like they’re rubbish and the sole victim ends up being the animal.”
At the moment, the AAA is providing residence to 80 dogs and this year was instrumental in rehoming around 377. In addition to this, they also launched a neutering campaign through which they have funded 460 animals from low income households to be neutered for free.
Noah’s Ark Malta is currently home to 120 dogs and rehomed 110 animals. It also held educational sessions for 12 schools to raise awareness on the abandonment of dogs.
The Malta Society Protection and Care of Animals (MSPCA) has 30 animals and, by the end of the year, they will have rehomed close to 200 dogs and cats, including all their old dogs which have been with them for years.
They have just relaunched a neutering campaign in Gozo with the Gozo ministry matching their investment in the campaign.