Dogs in the Corona period: Are animals now being given away en masse in homes

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Dogs in the Dortmund animal shelter (symbol image)

Photo: imago images / Oliver Schaper

A golden retriever against loneliness, a cat for the children: when public life was shut down and private contacts restricted last year, many people got a four-legged roommate.

According to the Association for the German Dog Industry (VDH), 20 percent more dogs were purchased in 2020 compared to previous years.

In total, Germans acquired around a million pets last year.

It wasn't always a good idea.

Animal rights activists warned early on against rash spontaneous purchases.

Your fear: when normality returns, people can meet their friends again or have to go to the office, many of these "corona puppies" end up in the animal shelter.

What about a year and a half after the first shutdown?

DER SPIEGEL asked.

Sabine Petersen, Tierheim Kiel: "Within a few weeks the population has doubled"

SPIEGEL:

Are you currently taking in more animals than usual at this time of year?

Petersen:

Yes.

An unbelievable wave of inquiries is rolling towards the Kiel animal shelter.

We had 21 dogs in the shelter in May.

That was little because many dogs found new owners during the Corona period.

None of the mediated dogs came back because we checked and mediated very carefully.

Now we have 52 dogs all at once, the number has doubled within a few weeks, I've never seen anything like it.

SPIEGEL:

How do you determine that these were animals that were rashly acquired during the corona lockdown?

Petersen:

Nobody says that openly, of course, but the animals are often around a year old.

You are approaching puberty, which is not an easy time for animals either.

SPIEGEL:

Are the animals you are getting now different from those in the period before Corona?

Petersen:

Often they are young, large breed males.

We're talking about 30-pound dogs that haven't learned to stay seated or not to jump at their counterparts.

It takes time until they have learned the rules of the game and can be conveyed.

This is certainly also due to the fact that the dog schools were closed.

A second large group are the dogs from animal protection abroad, which were brought to Germany under the wrong circumstances.

Then an animal was thought of as a family dog ​​that had never before learned to bond with a human.

SPIEGEL:

How do most animals end up with you?

Petersen:

Most often, private individuals want to hand over their animals.

There are also found animals that we suspect may have been released.

Since pets have to be chipped in Schleswig-Holstein, abandoning them is no longer as common as it was ten years ago.

After all, this is how the owner can be traced.

SPIEGEL:

Who is coming to you?

Petersen:

There was an older couple, both over 70, they had bought a Newfoundland hybrid.

Both were health impaired and then - surprise - the dog is too stormy for them.

You have assured that the animal was by no means a thoughtless Corona acquisition.

Unfortunately, the submission discussions often begin with this standard sentence.

SPIEGEL:

Will there be more taxes or have the worst behind you now?

Petersen:

We assume that the wave will get worse.

The private breeders from Germany who came onto the market during the Corona period and who breed animals without adhering to requirements still have litters.

At some point there is no longer any demand for these litters and then for the parent animals.

The difficult time is yet to come.

Kristina Berchtold, Munich animal shelter: "Increasingly difficult dogs with behavioral problems too"

SPIEGEL:

Are you currently taking in more animals than usual at this time of year?

Berchtold:

There are a few more animals than usual during the holiday season.

We suspect that about a quarter of our almost one hundred dogs are corona dogs.

SPIEGEL:

Are the animals you are getting now different from those in the period before Corona?

Berchtold: On the

one hand, we have a few more young, relatively uncomplicated animals that are relatively easy to convey.

But even before Corona we got increasingly difficult dogs with behavioral problems.

More and more people are rashly buying large herd guard dogs.

These animals need a job, lots of space and experienced owners.

SPIEGEL:

What would you advise someone who is overwhelmed with their animal?

Berchtold:

Animal trainers can often help.

Sometimes it helps to get a second cat to keep you busy.

However, if the dog cannot get along with the toddler despite training or if a family member develops a severe allergy, giving it away may be the best solution.

But we would like these people to try to find new owners themselves.

SPIEGEL:

How many people want to take in animals now?

Berchtold:

Demand is always lower in summer.

People prefer to go on vacation first before looking into the subject.

It was different last year.

The phone rang all day.

People have always asked specifically about puppies.

Others wanted to know if we could borrow dogs for the evening because walking was exempt from the exit restrictions.

SPIEGEL:

Will there be more taxes or have the worst behind you now?

Berchtold:

We fear that even more animals will come when the pandemic is really over, i.e. all restrictions have been lifted and people are less likely to work from home.

Benjamin Pasternak, Oekoven animal shelter: "We have had to call the police several times"

SPIEGEL:

Are you currently taking in more animals than usual at this time of year?

Pasternak:

Not yet.

SPIEGEL:

Do you notice any other effects of the corona pandemic?

Pasternak:

In the initial phase, the demand for animals was massive.

That could not be satisfied at all - at least in a legal way.

When we had to close because of the lockdown, people wanted to break in here.

Many have developed a strange point of view.

They say: I need a pet now, you have to sell me one.

If we don't do that - because we don't have a suitable animal or people are not suitable as owners - they cause rioting.

We have had to call the police several times because otherwise we would not have gotten the people off the property.

SPIEGEL:

Are you involved in the illegal puppy trade?

Pasternak:

Only rarely directly.

The Rhineland is a long way from the Eastern European countries that are known for it.

But we often have to do with people who have obtained a dog from such sources.

At the vet it is noticeable that the dog has not been vaccinated against rabies.

The puppy is collected and is put into quarantine with us.

We have such cases five to six times a month - before Corona, at most once.

It is bad for the little puppies to sit in individual quarantine for weeks.

And it will be expensive for the owners.

Care and care in the animal shelter plus veterinarian cost an average of around 1000 euros.

In addition, there is the fine of the veterinary and public order office for importing a puppy without vaccination protection.

SPIEGEL:

Do people pay for it or do many of these puppies get stuck with you?

Pasternak:

In most cases, they pick up the puppy.

Often times people really act out of ignorance.

Much more educational work would have to be done.

SPIEGEL:

Could you please describe an example of a rash purchase.

Pasternak:

There was a family with two children here from the region who bought a dog in Magdeburg.

The new owners were surprised that the dog slept the whole trip and also at home.

The next morning he came to the breakfast table and bit a child in the face without warning.

The previous owners had sedated the animal and concealed the fact that the dog had already been suspicious of it several times.

Gaby Schwab, Bremen animal shelter: "The illegal puppy trade was booming without end"

SPIEGEL:

Are you currently taking in more animals than usual at this time of year?

Schwab:

It's definitely 30 to 40 percent more.

We have calls from people almost every day who want to hand over their dogs and cats.

The owners often give allergies as the reason, but you can tell when they are not being honest.

Many also say that they are overwhelmed with the animal, that it is more expensive than expected or that they have a new job.

We even had an admission freeze for six weeks in June and July because there were too many animals.

This was mainly due to dogs confiscated from the illegal puppy trade.

SPIEGEL:

Has this type of puppy trade with Corona gotten worse, or have the veterinary authorities been more vigilant?

Schwab:

Both.

Because more and more people wanted dogs and couldn't get them from animal welfare organizations and breeders, they ended up on eBay classifieds and similar providers.

These multipliers took advantage of this, and the illegal puppy trade boomed without end.

Reports about this have made the veterinary authorities and the population more vigilant.

One case was only exposed because a passer-by saw that a dog had changed hands in a parking lot for money.

SPIEGEL:

Are there any other special features of the corona pandemic?

Schwab:

We have very many suspended

Chicken.

When the first lockdown came, many people spontaneously wanted to become self-sufficient.

After a while they noticed that chickens were doing work, turning the garden into a crater landscape and roosters crowing very early in the morning.

SPIEGEL:

Will there be more taxes or have the worst behind you now?

Schwab:

There will certainly be a few more, but not as extreme as after the end of the last lockdown, when everyone wanted to go on vacation again.