Vacation victims

Sad peak season for animal shelters in summer

A pet left on the side of the road is unfortunately not uncommon.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/juefraphoto - stock.adobe.com)

The same tragic scenario is repeated every year during the vacation season: the number of animals that have grown tired of their owners increases throughout Austria. Animal shelters face enormous challenges: "If we say that we have no more space, we are insulted. People threaten to abandon the animal or have it shot!"

At a swimming pond in Vienna, a white cat was left to its fate in a taped-up transport box. In a wooded area, hikers discovered a completely dehydrated dog tied to a tree. A cage with a dwarf rabbit mother and her offspring stood in front of a supermarket's garbage room - in the sun, at an outside temperature of 
37 degrees outside. Sad individual fates you might think - but unfortunately the opposite is the case!

The first days of the vacations in Vienna
"Already in the first week of the vacations, the City of Vienna's animal rescue service sees a drastic increase in call-outs, by an average of 70 percent! Time and again we find animals that have been heartlessly disposed of like garbage. Before you acquire a living creature, you should think deeply and seriously consider whether you are up to this responsibility," says Thomas Benda, Operations Manager of TierQuarTier Vienna.

Abandoned pets or pets that have grown tired of their owners are a nationwide animal welfare problem, especially during the vacation season. For years, there has been a spike in the number of animals surrendered or abandoned in connection with the major school vacations. Animal rescue centers are overcrowded and completely overloaded during this time.

The main victims are dogs, cats and small animals, which people often get rid of inconspicuously. Some of these "vacation victims" are animals that were sweet and cute as Christmas presents, but are now seen as nothing more than a burden.

It should go without saying that you should look for suitable vacation care for your pet early enough if necessary. Because you never abandon family members and friends!

Maggie Entenfellner, Ressortleiterin „Krone“-Tierecke

Bild: ORF/Günther Pichlkostner

Animal shelter at the limit of its capacity
At the Pfotenhilfe Lochen animal shelter (Upper Austria), the phones have also been ringing off the hook for weeks because owners want to get rid of their four-legged companions. "It's desperate, because if we cancel because we simply have no more space, especially now, we are shouted at, insulted or even threatened to abandon the animal or have it shot," says Jürgen Stadler to "Krone".

There are many reasons why people want to get rid of their pets during the summer months: four-legged friends are not allowed in vacation homes, the prices of boarding kennels seem prohibitive, no one can take care of them in their living environment. Or the classics that apply all year round: lack of time, resources and willingness to look after an animal.

Nobody has to abandon an animal!

• Abandoning animals is a punishable offense and is considered animal cruelty! While some affected four-legged friends are found in time and taken in by an animal shelter, others are not so lucky - the chance of survival for abandoned animals is not particularly high!
• There are numerous ways to find good shelter during the vacation season. There are usually people in the private sector who will take in a guest animal or board it in their familiar surroundings.
• For information and tips on boarding kennels, pet sitters or even in emergency situations (should an animal have to be given away), please contact the "Krone" animal corner: 05 7060 23317, e-mail: [e-mail]

No matter why a pet is abandoned by its owner, it is always the pet that suffers the most in this situation. Being left alone by a trusted person in an unfamiliar place leaves an animal distressed and confused. Even if it physically survives the extreme stressful situation, emotional and physical scars remain.

It takes thirty days at the shelter before an abandoned animal is released for adoption - 30 days of waiting, frightened and distraught in a strange environment, in most cases in vain! Only then does the search for a new home begin. And this can take longer.

Correct behavior with a found animal
Only try to catch a loose animal if you are not putting yourself or your four-legged friend in danger. Please do not take animals you think have been abandoned with you, but inform the relevant authorities (local animal rescue, animal shelter, police). Wait until the experts arrive. You can offer the animal some water. Speak to it in a calm, friendly tone and please keep your distance. This will let the animal know that you are not a threat.