外媒 skynews /Lisa Dowd
Dog homes inundated with people returning their pets as the cost-of-living crisis bites
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2022 年 4 月 23 日星期六 01:57，英國
A charity is being inundated with calls from people looking to give up their dogs due to the cost-of-living crisis.
Birmingham Dogs Home has taken in 53% more animals than last year and its two sites are now full.
Charity fundraiser Rachel Frost told Sky News: "I don't think we saw that the cost of living was going to increase.
"We kind of knew about the lockdown dogs and people not having the time for them once things got back to normal, the socialising aspect of dogs during lockdown, so we foresaw we were going to get an increase in dogs that way, but the cost of living has shocked people."
The charity, which is also battling to absorb the costs of rising utility bills and fuel, is currently housing 130 dogs - with 93 brought to them over the last month.
Cersi, a one-eyed French bulldog, will soon be looking for a new home after veterinary treatment. She was taken in because her owner could no longer afford her.
"Everything's gone up, so that's really tough on families, it's a very hard decision to make," Ms Frost added.
At Christmas, the RSPCA rescued 29% more animals than the previous year in England and Wales.
The charity said it was expecting to see a further increase by summer due to the cost-of-living crisis.
A spokesperson told Sky News: "For those who are struggling to care for their pet as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, we would urge people to please seek help from friends and family, or reputable charities like ourselves.
"We're concerned that we could see a rise in abandonments as the rising cost of living puts a strain on people's finances or we could see a rise in pets being treated with home remedies to cut costs instead of being taken to the vet.
"This could all have a worrying impact on animal welfare."
Tumours, knee surgery and skin irritations are amongst the problems that vets at Birmingham Dogs Home are dealing with.
The average cost of caring for a small dog is around ￡50 a month, but that doesn't include cover if things go wrong.
Vet Matt Perks explained: "In terms of insurance, there's a wide range out there - but you're probably looking at ￡50 a month for a good level of cover with lifetime cover.
"It's so worth that security. If, for example, a dog ever needs an MRI scan, you're probably talking ￡2,500 to ￡3,000 for a scan alone, some orthopaedic procedures we're talking well into thousands of pounds.
"During lockdown, people went out and bought a dog thinking it's a good idea and then it's only an afterthought when the dog starts getting problems - and is probably why we end up with these relinquishments, because people can't afford the care."
原文Google翻譯如下
由於生活成本危機，一家慈善機構收到了很多人希望放棄他們的狗的電話。
Birmingham Dogs Home 接收的動物數量比去年增加了 53%，其兩個站點現已滿員。
慈善籌款人雷切爾弗羅斯特告訴天空新聞：“我認為我們沒有看到生活成本會增加。
“我們有點了解被封鎖的狗，一旦事情恢復正常，人們就沒有時間陪伴他們，在封鎖期間狗的社交方面，所以我們預見到這樣我們會增加狗的數量，但成本的生活震驚了人們。”
該慈善機構也在努力消化不斷上漲的水電費和燃料成本，目前正在收容 130 隻狗——上個月有 93 隻狗被帶到了這裡。
Cersi 是一隻獨眼的法國鬥牛犬，在接受獸醫治療後將很快尋找新家。她被收養了，因為她的主人再也買不起她了。
“一切都在上漲，所以這對家庭來說真的很艱難，這是一個非常艱難的決定，”弗羅斯特女士補充道。
聖誕節期間，RSPCA 在英格蘭和威爾士拯救的動物數量比前一年增加了 29%。
該慈善機構表示，由於生活成本危機，預計到夏季會進一步增加。
一位發言人告訴天空新聞：“對於那些因生活成本危機而難以照顧寵物的人，我們會敦促人們向朋友和家人或像我們這樣有信譽的慈善機構尋求幫助。
“我們擔心，由於生活成本的上漲給人們的財務帶來壓力，我們可能會看到被遺棄的人數增加，或者我們可能會看到越來越多的寵物接受家庭療法以降低成本，而不是被帶到獸醫處。
“這都可能對動物福利產生令人擔憂的影響。”
腫瘤、膝蓋手術和皮膚刺激是伯明翰犬之家的獸醫正在處理的問題之一。
照顧一隻小狗的平均費用約為每月 50 英鎊，但這不包括出現問題時的保險。
獸醫馬特·珀克斯解釋說：“就保險而言，範圍很廣——但你可能會看到每月 50 英鎊的高水平保險和終身保險。
“這種安全性非常值得。例如，如果一隻狗需要進行 MRI 掃描，僅掃描一次就可能要花費 2,500 到 3,000 英鎊，而我們正在談論的一些整形外科手術要花費數千英鎊。
“在封鎖期間，人們出去買了一條狗，認為這是個好主意，然後當狗開始出現問題時，這只是事後的想法——這可能就是我們最終放棄這些的原因，因為人們負擔不起這種照顧。”