Litter of pups and their mum among 'alarming' number of dogs left abandoned at Dogs Trust after Christmas

An average of 10 calls a day were made to the organisation's centre in Finglas between St Stephen's Day and the end of January.

The charity recorded 317 calls and 53 emails from people trying to relinquish their dog. The charity has described the numbers as "alarming".

The most common excuses were that dog owners did not have enough time to look after their new pets.

A heartbreaking case arriving last week at Dogs Trust Rehoming Centre in Finglas was a box of 8-week-old puppies, Tayana, Tefi and Timoti and their mum, Tati who were callously dumped and left for dead in freezing temperatures, before being rescued by Dogs Trust.

Sadly, mum Tati also has a deformity in both her front legs causing them to buckle outwards, which can be very painful, especially in later life. Her malformation is also suspected to be genetic, in which case it is very possible that her pups could also develop the chronic condition. All four will be looking for homes over the next few weeks.

Karla Dunne, Head of Operations at Dogs Trust, said: "It’s so incredibly heartbreaking to see these beautiful creatures being discarded in this way with little thought for their safety or well-being. We’re just grateful that they were found and brought to us so that we can care for them here until they find loving homes.

"Thankfully all four of them are now thriving here and mum Tati can get the veterinary treatment she needs, but sadly many other puppies are not as fortunate and this could have been a completely different story had they not been found so quickly.”

Dogs Trust operates at full capacity and offers as many places as possible to dogs from Irish pounds, as they are the ones most at risk of destruction so, unfortunately, the charity is not in a position to take surrendered dogs from members of the public.

However, in the majority of the cases so far this year the welfare of the dogs found abandoned or surrendered was of such concern, that the dogs were admitted for immediate veterinary attention; this has impacted the number of dogs the charity can rescue from the Local Authority Pounds.

Suzie Carley, Executive Director said: "We have just marked the 40th anniversary of the phrase “A dog is for life, not just for Christmas” and sadly this message is still as relevant today as when it was first coined by Dogs Trust all those years ago.

"We would urge people who are thinking of taking on a new dog not to do so coming up to Christmas."

"A dog is a big commitment so if you are still thinking of getting a dog in the New Year we would ask the public to do careful research on where you are sourcing your dog from, research the breed of dog to suit your lifestyle and try to anticipate any major lifestyle changes such as an upcoming move, a new baby and consider how a dog may impact this before bringing one into your home.”