A Dogs Trust Leeds worker has admitted they are "inundated with calls" amid the cost of living crisis, as people are devastatingly having to choose between feeding themselves and their pets.
Canine carer, Kevin Johnson, who works at Dogs Trust Leeds told Leeds Live that the rehoming centre currently has the highest longest waiting list they've ever had.
Kevin said the team are "drowning in dogs" as more and more owners are struggling to feed and care for their pets. He said what's changed with the cost of living crisis is that the people who are handing over their dogs now, genuinley don't want to, they're doing so because they have no other choice.
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Kevin said: "It's heart-breaking, people can't afford to feed their pets, they might be relying on food banks or have to choose between feeding their children or the dog or maybe they've got vet bills they can't pay. And we can all say 'I'd never do that, I'd rather not eat myself than give up my dog', but it's impossible to say that until you find yourself in that position.
"It could be that they have had to take a second job and they no longer have time to give to the dog or it's being left alone for long periods of time. Some people have had to extend their working hours and they're having to then pay for dog walkers and doggy day care that they can no longer afford.
"It's people who have lost their home and had to downsize and are moving to a rental accommodation and they can't find somewhere that will take a pet. And the thing that makes it so clear is that when people are handing the dogs over, it used to be that maybe a couple of times a month somebody would be in, in the reception area in floods of tears because they were handing the dog over, not because they wanted to, it was a reason that was out of their control and they were just heartbroken to do it.
"But now there won't be a week that goes by that there isn't a few people in reception handing a dog over utterly heartbroken because they're not doing it out of choice. There's simply no other option for them. And it's the worst decision for someone to make but they are doing what is right because they know they can no longer provide what that dog needs. So the right thing to do is to come us and we can see how we can help."
However, Kevin went on to discuss that due to unprecedented demand while they are always commited to do what they can, they can't always help.
He continued: "It might not always be that we can say, right well bring the dog in now because we're never not at full capacity at the minute, we're constantly juggling. It's the highest, longest waiting list we've ever had. It's a constant barrage of people contacting us at the minute, but the demand is that high that all we can do is get them into the system when they contact us. It might even be that we can just signpost them to other areas of support. The cost of living has, um, affected things so badly.
"But what breaks us here at Dogs Trust is not the person person crying in reception, obviously it's heartbreaking to witness, but it's the look on the dogs' faces when their owner walks away and they realise they're never coming back."
Details and enquiries about the pets currently living at Dogs Trust Leeds can be found by visiting their website, here.
