Accrington: Starved dog forced to eat plastic as cost-of-living bites

During a visit to the RSPCA site in Holker House Farm in Huncoat, Accrington, staff spoke about the huge strain that the whole animal welfare sector is under at the moment.

Calls to the RSPCA about owners not being able to afford their dogs anymore are rising. The charity received nearly 1.1million calls to their emergency line in 2022.

People’s circumstances are changing and the charity recently saw a man who had been made homeless due to the cost of living therefore can't afford to take care of his dog anymore.

Barry (Image: LT)

One adorable pooch the workers are caring for is Barry. “When he came in he was extremely emaciated,” said one worker.

“He was basically like a walking skeleton, living outside with no shelter so he hasn’t had much social skills with people.”

When the RSCPA took Barry in, he weighed 15.3kg but now weighs a healthy 25.6kg. The worker added: “Because he was so starved, he used to eat anything and everything to basically fill his stomach so he would eat foreign objects, so he had to have a few operations.

“He did eat a ball because he was that hungry and he had to have his stomach pumped.

“He’s a lot better now with food, he doesn’t eat everything he sees now which is obviously good.”

While many pets found amazing new owners during lockdown, the RSPCA are aware many now want to give up their pet as normality returns, and cost of living pressures simultaneously bite.

A majority of frontline RSPCA officers have seen animals which were bought during lockdown and are no longer wanted.

Sharing how common it is for people to have to give their dogs up to be rehomed, one of the staff said: “Different circumstances can bring them in. We never judge for any reason they have to come in.

“We do get more calls asking for food and vet help so people are trying their best to not give them up but ultimately that’s sometimes the only choice they’ve got unfortunately.”

The RSPCA's Animal Kindness Index highlights the stark challenges ahead with 19 per cent of pet owners worried about feeding their pets, and 28 per cent worried about being able to care for their pets, amid these unprecedented pressures. 

All this comes at an extremely busy time for the RSPCA. Rehoming is slowing as cost of living pressures bite and charity officers are seeing more abandonments.

There is also a growing problem of pets bought during lockdown not being wanted anymore and animals with severe behavioural issues coming into the charity’s care.

The staff member continued: “A lot of the animals now that are coming in do have complex needs. For instance, during lockdown dogs weren’t socialised because of lockdown rules.

“You’ve also got the dogs that are used to having someone at home constantly and now they’re being left on their own and they’ve got severe separation anxiety so they’re coming into us and they’re taking quite a long time to rehabilitate, much longer than before.

“But there’s a lot of dogs out there that are damaged, that really need our help and it’s taking so much longer to get them fit for rehoming.”

To fight against all the factors causing the spike in abandoned pets and struggling owners, the charity has partnered with local food banks to offer pet food to owners struggling financially.

Staff have also been campaigning against blanket bans in the private rented sector for pets.

A spokesperson said: “Given the rising mortgage rates, there could be more people finding themselves in private rented accommodation and we don’t want anybody to face the difficult choice between finding accommodation and keeping their pets.”