It's a worrying statistic as pet abandonment is on the rise.
Vet Pete Wedderburn says 'thousands' of dogs could have been surrendered to animal welfare charities lately.
The TV vet has given an estimation after a sharp rise in pets being given to shelters since Christmas.
Dogs Trust received almost 300 calls from owners looking to find a home for their dog in January.
That's a 73 percent increase on calls from the year before.
Since Christmas, we have received an alarming 297 requests to surrender a dog into our care. This is an average of 8 requests every single day.
That’s a 73% increase on last year, so we really need YOUR help.
Find out how you can help👉https://t.co/HkG5ZNd6nI#ADogIsForLife pic.twitter.com/IRUvHG1r1g— Dogs Trust Ireland (@DogsTrust_IE) February 3, 2022
Dogs Trust PRO Corrina Fitzsimons explains that misinformation is a big reason for giving up dogs.
"The majority of online ads have some kind of mistruth in them," Fitzsimons says.
"Maybe it's where the dogs are coming from, the could be from a puppy farm."
"People are alluding to the fact they are a family reared pup when nothing could be further from the truth."
Dogs Trust is appealing to anyone who is interested in fostering a dog to contact them.
Original report from Spin's Andrew Louth.
