Petition for Junior Minister to 'champion dog welfare' as 10-week-old puppies abandoned
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More than 18,000 people have signed a petition calling on the Government to create a new Junior Minister role who will "champion dog welfare" across the country.
The petition was started after four 10-week-old dachshund cross pups were discovered abandoned at the side of a road in a cardboard box and taken into Dogs Trust's rehoming centre in Dublin.
Staff at the centre have since named the pups Betty Lou, Cindy Lou, Dr Seuss, and Martha May, after characters from the Christmas movie .
The charity is now asking the public to give "The Grinch Litter" the "greatest gift this Christmas" by signing their petition.
Dogs Trust believes a Junior Minister is needed in order to tackle issues like irresponsible breeding which can lead to abandonments like this.
The charity says that Ireland is in the midst of a "canine crisis".
This year alone they have taken more than 3,000 calls from people needing to give their dog up for reasons as varied as behavioural issues to accommodation challenges.
The charity is also taking in abandoned dogs and mums and their pups rescued from puppy farms, often in terrible conditions.
All issues, they say, someone in Government with full responsibility for dog welfare could help tackle.
So far, more than 18,000 people have signed the petition, but Dogs Trust say that they "need more signatures to get the message to the new office holders of Leinster House".
Executive director of Dogs Trust Ireland, Suzie Carley said: “Currently policy and legislation for the welfare, breeding, selling and supplying, control and traceability of dogs falls across multiple government departments.
"Without one person having sole responsibility for all areas of dog welfare, including enforcing and resourcing legislation, our canine companions can sadly fall through the cracks. We are urging the new government to create this role.
“To support our campaign, we’re asking dog lovers in Ireland to sign our petition for a Junior Minister — someone at the heart of government whose job it is to care for dogs as much as you do.”
According to the charity's dog census, 88% of respondents believe there should be a dedicated Junior Minister to provide a more co-ordinated response to dog welfare issues in Ireland.
Dog lovers nationwide can sign the petition via DogsTrust.ie/GreatestGift.