By Rory Reynolds
THE current economic gloom has sparked a dog boom for Scotland’s oldest pet care home.
Edinburgh Dog & Cat Home has seen the number of residents leaving with new owners more than double this summer, compared to this time last year.
And the pet home reckons that people are choosing a new addition to the family rather than have a holiday this year.
Between June and August 84 dogs and 36 cats were re-homed with new families, compared to 40 dogs and 18 cats in the same period last year.
The home’s manager, David Ewing, 52, reckons people are foregoing holidays in favour of getting a new pet.He said: “I think they are using their extra cash to re-home an animal rather than going off to the Costa Blanca.
Unusual
“We are doing a lot better than we thought we would this year and it is quite unusual because the summer is a time that we tend to be quieter, as people are usually away on holiday.
“The summer is not the time of year that you tend to find lots of dogs and cats being re-homed.”
David added that the season is actually the best time to bring a new pet into a family as parents are children will often be on summer holidays.
Last Christmas a large number of pets were found abandoned, with the home caring for 110 dogs, far more than usual.
The rise was thought to be due to the recession and the cost of keeping a pet, but the summer boom has meant the home has seen off many of the abandoned pets to new families.
He said: “It has been a very peculiar year – it bucks the trend and I do think that this has to bear some relation to the fact that people are not necessarily going away for long periods of time or going on expensive holidays.
“More people are holidaying at home and as a result we have seen a number of dogs and cats being re-homed.
“The credit crunch has had a beneficial effect for us during the summer months.
“It has definitely been an unusual couple of summer months for us.”
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