Dogs Trust has received nearly 400 requests to surrender dogs into its care this year.

The charity has also seen an 80% surge over the past three years in people having to surrender pets as they cannot be homed in rental properties.

Ciara Murran is Head of Communications at Dogs Trust Ireland.

She told The Pat Kenny Show the problem has gotten worse post-COVID.

"We've had over 300 requests in January alone," she said.

"It's quite astonishing the amount of dogs that are being surrendered; and the rise in dogs being surrendered as well - particularly coming out of COVID.

"We would have near to 3,000 annual surrender requests from people".

One-year-old Collie sisters, Serena and Venus, were recently surrenders to the Dogs Trust Ireland. Picture by: Dogs Trust/Fran Veale

She said a large proportion of the surrenders are because people can't find places to live that will accommodate dogs.

"We've seen an 80% increase over the past three years of people looking to give up their dog purely down to accommodation," she said.

"[This] is absolutely devastating, obviously, for the owner.

"We have listed it as one of the top three reasons that people give for having to surrender their dog".

'Change in circumstance'

Ms Murran said the reasons for surrendering a dog can vary.

"Sometimes it's absolutely nothing to do with the dog at all," she said.

"It could be do with a change in circumstance; the owner might be selling up - it really does vary.

"There is a massive rental crisis at the moment, and unfortunately the demand is far outweighing the supply.

"When people are going to look for houses, what we're seeing is that the landlords sometimes are going for people that don't have dogs, rather than people that do.

"We have a whole 'Renting with Rover' guidelines on our website".

One-year-old Collie sisters, Serena and Venus, were recently surrenders to the Dogs Trust Ireland. Picture by: Dogs Trust/Fran Veale

She said people with dogs may need to be more flexible.

"What we're saying is for people to be a little bit more open-minded," she said.

"Maybe look at the size, the location, maybe you might have to go further afield than you would like to.

"It's just not being so closed off or narrow-minded when it comes to what type of property you're looking for," she added.

Main image: One-year-old Collie sisters, Serena and Venus, were recently surrenders to the Dogs Trust Ireland. Picture by: Dogs Trust/Fran Veale