Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

Covid: Dogs bought in lockdown being abandoned

Covid: Dogs bought in lockdown being abandoned

People have tried to sell their lockdown dogs on Gumtree before disguising them as strays so rescue centres take them in, a charity warned.

More than 3.2 millions pets were bought by UK household during lockdown, figures from March showed.

Hope Rescue, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, said the number of dogs being dropped off at its rescue centre in Pontyclun was the highest in its 15-year history.

The charity expects the trend to continue for the next two years.

Charity staff said some dog owners had called a dog warden and pretended their own pet is a stray, or taken the dogs directly to a rescue centre claiming they had found it abandoned.

One-year-old Maggie, an old English sheepdog crossed with a golden retriever, was taken in as a stray, but the next day staff saw a recent advert on Gumtree asking for £500 for her.

Sara Rosser, head of welfare at Hope Rescue Centre, said: "We have to take stray dogs and so fake strays are jumping the queue ahead of dogs that really are abandoned.

"It is definitely unprecedented numbers at the moment."

One-year-old Maggie was left at a rescue centre as a stray but then staff saw an ad on Gumtree from her owners
 This online advert for Maggie was found after she was brought into Hope Rescue centre as a stray
She said in the past week alone, five had come into the centre that they knew were fake strays, but the number "could be much higher".

The centre now has 150 strays - more than it has ever had before.

She said: "The rescues are full and then the vets are ringing us saying 'is there any chance you can take them because we're concerned that dog is going to be put to sleep'."

 Charlie is a six-year-old terrier who came into Hope Rescue as a stray

The centre said these were "desperate times" and others like them were at "crisis point".

Centres are at capacity, Ms Rosser said, because of the increase in people who got dogs during lockdown and later realise they cannot look after them as life returns to normal.

She added: "At the moment what we're hearing from all the rescue centres that we work with is that they are also full and that they are under massive pressure."

 Sara Rosser says many owners are realising they do not have the time to look after a dog out of lockdown

Dogs arriving at rescue centres post-pandemic are said to have a higher incidence of health or behavioural problems, or both, making them more difficult to rehome.

Often these dogs have no background information on these issues, which lengthens the adoption process.

Hope Rescue said it had received more than 7,000 applications to adopt dogs in 2021, and has had to suspend applications because of the volume.

Often, dogs cannot be transferred to other rescue centres because they have also reached capacity.

Meg Williams, enterprise development manager at Hope Rescue, said: "We think this is going to be lasting for two to three years, maybe even longer.

"The problems are going to continue, not everyone is choosing the right dog for their household."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
×