Dogs Trust said it received an "alarming" number of calls from people looking to give up their dogs recently.

The organisation received 370 requests from Dublin dog owners in the month after Christmas. This amounted to ten calls a day to the Finglas branch alone between St Stephen's Day and the end of January from who people who wanted to surrender their pets. The most common reason that owners gave for this was that they didn't have enough time to care for their dogs, an analysis of the request reveals. Irish people are still buying pets on a whim in the run-up to Christmas, said Dogs Trust executive director Suzie Carley. "It is extremely worrying to see an increase in the number of dogs and puppies being surrendered or abandoned after Christmas," she told the Irish Sun. "We have just marked the 40th anniversary of the phrase 'A dog is for life, not just for Christmas', and sadly this message is as relevant today as when it was first coined by Dogs Trust all those years ago." She called on members of the Irish public who were considering getting a dog to rescue one. She also asked that anyone buying a dog do so from a reputable breeder.