Bristol Animal Rescue Centre says it is seeing more and more pets handed over with severe medical conditions, as the rising cost of living leads to many owners facing significant financial difficulties. Nationally, the charity says that animal intake is up 8.4 per cent as pet owners struggle to afford their pets' care during the crisis.
What's more, with the animals' untreated medical conditions, pets are staying longer to receive care from such charities - the average stay for a dog is up from 85 days to 93 days. And fewer people are currently willing to adopt, especially dogs with more complex needs.
Jodie Hayward, animal home manager at Bristol Animal Rescue Centre, said: "Many pets are going without urgent medical care, particularly during the cost of living crisis and unfortunately we are picking up the pieces. More animals are coming into our care with complex needs and fewer people want to adopt them.
Read more: Spaniel puppy rescued from quarry after falling down cliff face
"We need support to give more of them a second chance at a happy life." One such example of this is Stanley, who arrived at Bristol Animal Rescue Centre four months ago via the RSPCA inspectors, with a fracture on his right elbow.
While this is a common injury in juvenile French bulldogs, as Stanley's injury had been left untreated, it had become much worse and affected his ability to walk. He also had a skin allergy, affecting his feet, skin and ears, for which he needed medication.
Like many other dogs of his breed, he has excessive facial folds, which caused eczema and was quite uncomfortable for him, staff at the rescue centre say. Georgia Hawkins of the animal behaviour team at Bristol Animal Rescue Centre said: "Stanley is a sweet little puppy but when he arrived we immediately knew that all wasn't right with him.
"He was struggling to walk and clearly in a great deal of pain. Nevertheless, he was very tolerant of being handled.
"It was almost like he knew we were trying to help him. After some getting to know him, we discovered that he hadn't been properly socialised.
"He was very vocal when left alone and could sometimes get frustrated and snappy, which is understandable given the amount of pain he must have been in."
Once he had been signed over by his previous owners, Stanley was rushed in for emergency surgery with the rescue centre's on-site vet team and has since undergone daily physiotherapy to help get his legs working again. Dr Damian Pacini, principal vet at Bristol Animal Rescue Centre, said: “Despite our surgical attempts, we’ve been unable to correct his elbow problem, although his leg works better than it did before.
"He’ll always have a limp, but it doesn’t limit his enjoyment of life and, aided by some anti-inflammatories he’s a pretty active chap. We have also performed some surgery on his facial folds, which will give him some relief from the skin inflammation which was bothering him before."
After Stanley had been treated and spent some time with the animal care team, he began to relax and staff say his cheeky personality has now begun to emerge. “Stanley is now an enthusiastic little pup who is affectionate and playful.
"He likes to say hello to everyone he passes in the street so they can have the opportunity to admire him – and he does have a lot of admirers! This gorgeous boy deserves a home full of support and plenty of cuddles,” Georgia added.
Bristol Animal Rescue Centre is asking for donations to its Spring Appeal to help more vulnerable animals like Stanley. You can find out more and donate, here.
Read next:
- Beaches along the Bristol Channel where dogs will soon not be welcome
- Dog owner distraught after Bristol 'hit-and-run' left puppy for dead
- Bristol vet talks about 'lockdown syndrome' in pets and added pressure on practices
- Bristol vet shares advice on how to spot gastroenteritis in dogs following outbreak in Midlands
