Owning a pet is becoming increasingly expensive and many families are making the difficult decision to give them up. Most animal shelters don't have the resources or space to take them and they're struggling to deal with the numbers.
00:00Nathan and Bernadette say their pets bring them joy.
00:07Walk in the front door and everyone doesn't say a word but the dog will come running up to you and start licking you and saying hello.
00:16They couldn't imagine life without them but the cost of keeping animals is rising as is the number of pets being surrendered to shelters.
00:25What people tell us it's the cost of living. They often bring pets to us that are in need of veterinary treatment and when we speak to them about that they just shrug their shoulders and say we just can't, we just don't have the money.
00:40Animal welfare organisations around the country don't have the staff, resources or space to deal with the influx.
00:48We've probably got about 15-20 people on our waiting list wanting to surrender and if we had the space we'd take them.
00:57Dog owners spend an average of $25,000 and cat owners spend an average of $21,000 over their pets lifetime.
01:06So it's not surprising people are making the difficult decision to let them go.
01:12Animal rights advocates want to see an end to illegal backyard breeding to reduce numbers.
01:18I'd like to see that stop to start with that you can't sell puppies at markets or you can't sell them by the side of the road.
01:24And consider introducing a European idea.
01:27Some European countries do operate a licence system to get a dog in the first place.
01:33Looking after loyal friends in a changing world.
01:36Looking after loyal friends in a changing world.
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01:52They don't live with these people too.
01:53And if they don't look like littered in India, free to put up a dog on the terrain.
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