It has been revealed that lurchers are the most abused and abandoned dog in Ireland.
Lurchers were originally bred for hunting and poaching, and aren’t seen as a pet according to The Haven Rescue, a non-profit organisation.
Jenny Nolan and Rosie Dowling both volunteer at the foster based rescue in Tipperary, and out of all the dogs they rescue, it’s predominantly lurchers.
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Jenny told Dublin Live: “The majority of lurchers that we would get in, they would never have been seen as pets up until the last couple of years. They were seen as strays that would hang around.
“They’d come in and be full of fleas, ticks and lice. We would get ones with broken legs and they’d be left behind when they’re out lamping and found a couple of days later.
“When people would see them, they’d be like ‘oh it’s just a lurcher’, whereas if it was a golden retriever, there’d be outcry. People don’t see them and greyhounds as pets.
“Once you get one or know one, you realise they’re great pets.
“There’s lurchers in every rescue across the country. They’d be able to tell you how they came in with broken bones, fleas or horrific mange.
“They go through such awful things and no matter how bad it is, they’re always the sweetest, gentlest, loveliest dogs. They never hold any grudge towards any human no matter what card they’ve been dealt.”
The rescue centre has rescued so many lurchers in horrific situations, but thankfully, a lot of them were rehomed.
Jenny said: “We’d one who was picked up as a stray and the bone was coming out of her leg. Bridget was obviously hit by a car a few days before.
“There was no saving her leg because the nerve and bone were broken for a couple of days, infection set in and started to rot the skin around it. If someone called when it happened, we might’ve been able to save her leg but she lost it.
“She ended up having six pups but only three survived. It’s probably because of the poor nutrition and her leg. Bridget lives in Dublin now with her new family.
“The same thing happened again, Scarlet, another lurcher, is only 12-14 months olds and she has a big untreated hernia on her stomach and she’s caring for her puppy as well. She only had one pup which is really unusual, usually they have 10-12.
“We rehomed a lurcher called Lenny. He came to us three years ago after sitting in a pound for a month on Christmas week. He was terrified but now, he’s flourished.
“His brother was also adopted and they meet up now. Lenny lives in Kildare and Hector lives in Dublin, they go for walks together, it’s lovely to see and they both have their own Instagram.”
When Covid lockdown hit, golden retrievers and those types of dogs got so expensive and people became so desperate for dogs so they thought about lurchers, according to Jenny. But now that things have gone back to normal, people no longer want their dog.
She said: “If you look at any pound pages online, they always have lurchers. It’s just trying to find them homes, lots of rescues are trying to promote them more. If a dog goes into a home, the family and neighbours see it, they might go down the lurcher route when it’s their time to get a pet.
“Dogs are a 15-year commitment and Covid puppies could’ve been prevented if people just thought about it a little bit. When someone surrenders their dog they don’t see the aftermath. They suffer from separation anxiety, they’re absolutely devastated and don’t understand what is going on.
“The family's problem is solved but we’ve to deal with the dog, they’ve only known their family and they need to readjust into the space we have. If you’d do that to a toddler they’d be traumatised for the rest of their lives.”
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