Manchester rescue centre in ‘desperate situation’ as cost of living crisis hits pet owners

A dog rescue centre in Greater Manchester has spoken of its desperation after being overwhelmed with abandoned pets.

Dogs 4 Rescue in Salford has described itself as ‘the most depressing place on Earth’ thanks to the sheer number of dogs being dumped on its door step.

Staff say they are at full capacity thanks to a combination of ongoing cost of living worries and the ‘puppy boom’ experienced during the Covid pandemic.

The fifty places at Dogs 4 Rescue’s kennel-free centre are all full and, despite the charity preparing to open a new site with an additional eighty places for pups, staff are still struggling to find the time to set this up due to their main centre’s over-capacity.

Dogs 4 Rescue

Dogs 4 Rescue’s owner Emma Sheraton says she ends most of her days ‘in tears’ because she is having to turn so many dogs away.

Emma described feeling ‘broken’ after being forced to turn away a four-month-old puppy because the centre was at full capacity. She now fears the pup will be put down.

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She told BBC Breakfast: “I’ve worked in rescue for nearly twenty years, and the crisis in the UK is like nothing we’ve ever known.

“We knew this was coming because of Covid and the lockdown puppies… But unfortunately we’ve got the problem of the cost of living crisis, and dogs are now coming in numbers we’ve never known.”

Dogs 4 Rescue

Emma and her team now calling upon people to help with the crisis by rescuing pets and even fostering some animals to free up space in the centre.

Dog 4 Rescue pays for all the food, toys and even vet bills, so those who decide to foster won’t have to spend a penny. All they’ll need to do is give a dog plenty of love and affection while they await their forever home.

If you would like to know more about how you could foster a dog, click here.