article in sun today

Today in the sun my husband saw a double page of dogs that have been abandoned by owners because of credit crunch on page was several staffs. It scary to think you can't afford to look after your pet and to be honest i'd try and cut back on other things, What are your thoughts on this?

I would definitely cut back on other things before I'd even contemplate giving up on my two. My girlie girls are like the daughters I never had lol and I wouldn't abandon my child just because things were a bit tight.

Owners need to take more responsibilty where their pets are concerned and think long term before they even think about taking on a pet.

Fair enough circumstances can change for people but I think people are just too quick at getting rid of their pets before bothering to think it through and explore alternatives before giving them up.

Its just awful that lots of dogs are being abandoned due to lack of funds, but I do think its an easy option that most choose unfortunately.

A tough call for some of those less fortunate I can imagine. Maybe some of them legitimately are making cutbacks...they might have children and I myself have been in the position of being a single mum, having to make the difficult decision of "getting rid" in order to put the food on the table for my kids. One can always argue that they should never have got the pet in the 1st place but at the time some parents have truly put thought into it and could afford it at the time, thinking it a positive thing for their children to have a pet to care for. Then there are those who really never should have got the pet. So to some it is a very difficult decision and others these are "disposables" and who are we to judge by a picture in the paper. On the other hand, it's times like this that weed out some of the less responsible owners. My heart goes out to all of those that had many sleepless nights coming to the difficult decision to rehome the family pet and to ALL the children whose sleepless nights are filled with tears of heartache.

I can certainly agree that there are genuine families out there whose circumstances have changed and that they have to put their children first in order to survive.

I remember when I was 14 yrs old and we were moving to a house with quite a small back garden...we had 3 dogs whilst living in our previous house as it had a humongus back garden but unfortunately we could only bring 1 with us to the new house.

We had to move house because my mum wasn't well and she needed a downstairs bathroom & bedroom.

Well, one of the dogs left behind was Barney , the most gorgeous black labrador/retriever I ever knew and he was my best friend. My Mum wanted to bring her girl dog Sheba a German Shepherd to our new house and that's what she did.

I never got over leaving Barney behind, a neighbour took him but I felt we had let him down & I still feel that way. I'm sure he has passed now (RIP handsome) but I have carried a photograph of him with me since I was 9, I was bought my first camera for my birthday that year, I took his photo and it moves from home to home with me.

I know only too well how having to leave or give away a much loved family pet can feel.

However I can also bet that there are down right irresponsible pet owners who will use the "credit crunch" as an excuse to off load their pet just in time to get a new puppy for christmas as they're bored with the puppy they had originally who has grown. I know... I'm a cynical old sod lol

Its very sad when I hear about all these animals being given up because of the credit crunch. There was a lady on tv today that had to give her horse up after 17 years! It would break my heart if I had to do that, but personally I would go without myself to ensure that I kept my little girl. Would even give up my weekly bottle of wine! lol

Dear God, I'd give up eating before I'd give up Murdoch. Seriously, I'd subsist on beans on toast morning noon and night if it meant I could keep him.

He's not that expensive anyway. A giant bag of complete dry food is about £30 and lasts him best part of two months. Other than that it's just insurance and treats - which to be fair cost about £1000000000000000 a month

Seriously though, I can't imagine how desperate I'd need to be financially to decide that I couldn't afford that amount to keep my boy. I hope I never ever find out.

Of course, I don't have any children to consider either.....

I dont care how tough things got - as long as I have my OH and Jade with me I'd survive - it'd kill me to get rid of her!

I know its easy to say but Jade costs next to nothing to keep! I think these people should be ashamed of themselves - you wouldn't get rid of your child cos you were skint - you'd survive somehow.

My thoughts exactly. I guess I can't judge because I'm not in that position, but I know that there are a million things I'd change about my lifestlye before I even considered abandoning Murdoch. My gym membership would go, I'd live on value beans, and I'd swap his food for value food if I had to. I'd keep the heating off and wear jumpers and blankets around the flat. I'd have friends round for a cup of tea and chat instead of going to the pub (where I only drink coke anyway!).

I think that a lot of people are using this as their first choice rather than inconveniencing themselves and having to do without in their own lives.

Please correct me if I'm wrong - as I say, I'm not in a position to understand the level of desperation. I just know the lows in my lifestyle that I'd sink to before giving up Murdoch would even be considered.

i would never get rid of diesel just because money was short i think most of them who do get rid of there dogs just cant be bothered and are bored with the dog they have...diesel does not cost alot of money to feed anyway

Omg that must be the first time in history that the sun newspaper has got something right
its terrible this is still going on a few months down the line

Its soo sad to think of all those poor doggies - the credit crunch reasoning is bulls**t! Even if you had to feed your dog on bloody tesco value food or chappie you'd do it just to keep them! Poor things - wish I had a huge house where I could stash em all!!

claire wrote:Its soo sad to think of all those poor doggies - the credit crunch reasoning is bulls**t! Even if you had to feed your dog on bloody tesco value food or chappie you'd do it just to keep them! Poor things - wish I had a huge house where I could stash em all!!

I totally agree !