Ms Nanci Creedon:

People need to understand why these restrictions are there and why the shelters and pounds are so adamant to ensure that their guidelines are followed when it comes to re-homing a dog. They see the negative side if they re-home a dog to a home that does not have a fenced in garden. The dog disappears and ends up back in the pound and so on. When it comes to adopting a dog, having young children and having a dog is hard work. It is an extra child in the house so, again, they will see the negative side of that, of the dogs then coming into rescue centres because the parents have young children and do not have the time for the dogs.

From the rescue centre point of view, it is just common sense. Centres are trying to minimise the probability of the dog being handed back and it being an unsuccessful rescue. For the dog-loving public, however, there is a miscommunication. They get frustrated that they are not allowed to get dogs. They ask why, since they are wonderful people and would be wonderful dog owners, they cannot get dogs. They can get dogs if they pay €1,500 for some sort of mixed-breed designer dog. The people selling those dogs are doing so for financial gain. There is no other reason to breed those mixed-breed dogs for €1,500. To make money, they have to minimise their costs. Spending many man hours socialising dogs, bringing them on their first car rides, handling them, grooming them, and ensuring the correct exposures like responsible breeders do is time-consuming and financially costly. If someone is spending a great deal of money on a poorly bred dog, he or she is likely to be buying a dog from a place that has little interest in anything other than financial gain.