The quarantine has created an unprecedented surge in ‘lockdown puppies,’ with people around the world looking for coping mechanisms to fight off the pandemic blues. And although emptied-out shelters and rescues looked very promising at first, as the restrictions are lifted, more and more freshly-made pet owners struggle to find time for their pups. But it’s the poor animals who pay for humans’ impulse decisions.

Recently, an anonymous vet’s heart-wrenching message was shared on the Yorkshire Rose Dog Rescue Facebook public group by Crescenza Puzio, who posted the text on behalf of the vet “who, like many of us in rescue, have just had enough.” The letter sheds light on so-called “difficult dogs,” and their devastating fate when owners refuse to put up with them.

Turns out, the vet sees painlessly taking their life as a more responsible thing to do than condemning them to wait with the rest of the enormous population of difficult dogs that flood rescue kennels around the country. But it just can’t possibly keep going like this, and it’s on the prospective dog owners to make a change.

The anonymous vet warned everyone to think twice about getting a pup in lockdown in his heart-wrenching letter

Image credits: John M (not the actual photo)

Posted by Crescenza Puzio, this is the message from the vet that should be a wake-up call for many

Image credits: Eric Danley (not the actual photo)

Bored Panda reached out to Crescenza Puzio, a volunteer with Yorkshire Rose Dog Rescue, who shared the vet’s heart-wrenching message on their Facebook group. Crescenza told us that the problem with lockdown puppies is huge.

“Back when lockdown started, we got an amazing amount of people applying for dogs, but we hardly had any in rescue. All rescues were reporting the same thing happening.”At the same time, “breeders were actively breeding dogs as fast as they could and people were buying any breed they could get their hands on,” she explained.

In reality, “people that had no business owning certain breeds such as working breeds were buying them just because they were cute.”

Image credits: Karen Blaha (not the actual photo)

The surge in lockdown puppies meant that people who, under normal circumstances, knew they didn’t have time or experience for a dog were getting dogs, many times for the kids.

But at this point, the situation has changed dramatically. “This seems to be one of the main reasons now for dogs being handed into rescues at 9-11 months old. Inexperienced people bought dogs and did not train them and now realize they don’t have the time.”

For them, “The puppy is not as cute anymore and walking a dog in winter is not as much fun,” Crescenza added. As a result, the dogs that are coming into rescues are young, hyper, untrained, and unsocialized. She explained that “adolescent dogs like that can be hard work to have around, especially around kids.”

Image credits: localpups (not the actual photo)

Unfortunately, Crescenza said this is only the tip of the iceberg for rescues. “We are being asked to take quite a few of your cute fluffy breeds too. However, before we can get the dog into rescue, people are selling them on.”

“It’s not uncommon to see young dogs being passed around to several homes. These are the ones who haven’t got behavioral issues yet. We will most likely see a lot of those dogs at around 18 months to 2 years old.”

Image credits: Yorkshire Rose Dog Rescue

When asked about the vet’s powerful message, Crescenza said that it shows how hopeless the situation sometimes feels. “The person who wrote it knows that what they did was not right or wrong. It just was…”

Crescenza also urges people thinking of getting a dog during lockdown to think really hard and do lots of research.

“Particularly research where you are getting your dog from. There are a lot of people taking advantage of the current situation. Most of all, think about not only what the dog will give you, but what you can give the dog for the next 10-15 years.”

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