513 dogs were admitted to the Monaghan County Council Dog Pound in 2023.
This was a massive increase on the 382 admitted during the previous year and almost 3 times the number of dogs admitted in 2021. Almost half of the dogs admitted to the Dog Pound in 2023 were surrendered by their owners.
There were 180 pups less than 6 months old admitted to the Dog Pound in 2023, 35% of the total which was the highest percentage ever. In 2023, Monaghan County Council asked owners for the reasons why they were surrendering their dogs.
The vast majority (77%) of reasons were owner issues. The most common of these (40%) was that the owner no longer wanted the dogs. Most of these unwanted dogs were pups that the owner was unable to get homes for. Over 20% of owners stated that they could no longer keep their dogs. This was mostly because of health issues, for example, the owner or a member of the owner’s family had fallen ill and was going to be ill for a prolonged period. Other reasons included: death of the owner; owner moving into a nursing home; owner moving house; pressure from landlord or neighbours; new baby in the house. 8 owners said the dog had grown too big for their house or garden space. 1 owner cited financial issues.
Around 10% of owners stated that they no longer had enough time to look after their dog, or that there was no one at home to mind the dog. While just over 20% of dogs were surrendered because of behavioural issues. Of the 513 dogs admitted to Monaghan County Council Dog Pound in 2023, 31 dogs were reclaimed by their owners; 10 dogs were euthanised – 7 of these because they had attacked sheep, 1 had bitten a cyclist and 2 were very aggressive towards other dogs.
Of the remainder, 257 were rehomed to members of the public and 209 were transferred to Carrick Dog Shelter. Carrick Dog Shelter then transferred dogs to other rescues around the country for rehoming.
