DOG wardens in Wiltshire say they have had “one of their busiest weeks” following a sharp rise in the number of dogs being abandoned as the cost-of-living crisis deepens.

The Wiltshire dog warden teams have collected nine dogs collected across the county and taken them to the safety of kennels.

A spokesperson said: “Sadly, none of the dogs have been claimed or match any of our records, so it's likely these dogs have been abandoned.

“All stray dogs will be held for seven days before being assessed ready for rehoming.”

The UK’s leading dog welfare charity, The Dogs Trust, which has a rehoming centre at Newton Tony near Salisbury, warned that it is receiving unprecedented numbers of enquiries from desperate dog owners who feel they’ve run out of options.  

In recent months, the charity has received a record number of calls from people asking it to take in their dogs.

August surpassed its previous record for the most enquiries in a single month, with almost 5,000 (4,993) owners enquiring about its handover service - a 14 per cent increase on July this year, and a 26 per cent increase from August 2021.  

The number of people looking to give up their dogs is placed in context by Dogs Trust’s September poll of the UK’s dog owners, run by YouGov.

The poll showed that 45 per cent of respondents in the South West thought they would find it more difficult to give their dog all they needed, compared to before the cost-of-living crisis began. 

When non-dog owners were asked, as part of the September poll, whether the rising cost of living would prevent them from adopting or buying a dog, more than six out of ten (65 per cent) said it would.  

Owen Sharp, The Dogs Trust's chief executive officer, said: “Dogs Trust has been receiving a shocking and unprecedented number of calls from dog owners asking us to take in their dogs because they feel they won’t be able to see them through this crisis. 

“Over the last month, we received on average 17 handover calls an hour from desperate owners feeling they’ve run out of options.  

“Combine this with the fact that 65 per cent of people in the South West told us, in our new cost of living poll, that they wouldn’t be prepared to take on a dog right now, and it’s clear to see we’re about to have a serious animal welfare issue on our hands.” 

Bath Cats & Dogs Home at Claverton Down, which takes in pets from west Wiltshire as well as Bath & North East Somerset, also reported seeing an increase in the number of pets being taken in by owners who are no longer able to afford to keep and feed them.

In the year after the first lockdown, UK households bought 3.2 million pets but as the cost-of-living crisis and the rise in energy bills began to bite many have found their household incomes squeezed.

The RSPCA said that as the number of calls for help rises, many of its centres are struggling to keep up with the demand.

Some centres are unable to take in more pets as the demand for rehoming abandoned pets rises.

Centres are also having to check whether the dogs have been abandoned or have been stolen.

They are urging owners to ensure their dog is microchipped and that the contact details are correct on the microchip register.

For more advice on microchipping, click here.