Wood Green: Calls for pet help increases during pandemic

Calls to an animal charity from people seeking help with their pets has risen sharply during lockdown, it says.

Wood Green, The Animal's Charity, based in Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire, received 819 calls about dogs and cats in 2020-21 compared to 638 the year before - an increase of 181.

It has urged owners to seek help early so pets can be kept in "loving homes".

Sue Ketland, a dog behaviour and training specialist, said it was best to nip any issues "in the bud".

She said help was available via phone calls, webinars, online advice, on-site consultations and home visits, when lockdown rules allow.

"Our aim is to keep pets in loving homes. We're not here to judge anybody, we want to help," said Ms Ketland.

"We want to prevent the owner from having to relinquish their pet and the subsequent stress the pet has to go through.

"If we can nip it in the bud nice and early we can save the relationship."

About 3.2 million UK households have acquired a pet since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Pet Food Manufacturers' Association, with young people driving the trend.

Wood Green said the most common reasons for calls to the charity was dogs behaving aggressively around other animals and humans, anxiety and barking.

Glynnis, from Cambridgeshire, bought a chocolate Labrador, Fred, when he was five months old in October.

"We knew he was challenging and boisterous, but as we've had three dogs before we were confident we could sort it out," she said.

"When we went for walks, he would leap all over people. I didn't feel like I had any control."

She got in touch with the charity in February and received one-to-one help.

"He's improved immensely. It's still a work in progress, but I feel like now I have the right tools and feel great about it," she said.

Ms Ketland said problems occurred when someone would buy a puppy online, struggle with it, then sell it on, passing the issues on to the next owner.

After the next owner struggled, it would then "come into rescue and it might need intensive training before it can be re-homed," she said.

As lockdown eases, if a dog in particular has been used to having you around and then you have to leave it, "social isolation can increase the likelihood of behavioural problems," she added.

Since Wood Green's outreach support scheme started in 2017, it received 620 calls about dogs and cats in its first year, rising to 733 the year after. During the pandemic, calls were the highest it had seen.

The charity is currently caring for 328 pets and 249 are needing homes. "Dogs are definitely in lower numbers than previous years, as they're of high value to sell rather than bring to a charity," Ms Ketland said.

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