The DSPCA have launched a new campaign urging the public to ‘Adopt, Don’t Buy’.

Unfortunately thousands of pets that are purchased at Christmas end up at homes just months later.

It is important to think carefully before taking on the responsibility and work of a new animal.

While young children may enjoy playing with a new pet, many lack the dedication needed to maintain it’s care.

This means after the holidays the DSPCA and sanctuaries all over Ireland are inundated with a wave of abandoned pets who need re-homing.

This Christmas the DSPCA are appealing for your help, by asking you to adopt an animal from their shelters rather than buying a new one from the pet store.

2012 has been a hard year for pet owners in Dublin.

The recession has hit people badly, with many being forced to give up their beloved family pets.

The DSPCA has also witnessed extreme acts of cruelty over the last 12 months.

There has been a number of pets found by landlords after they have been left abandoned by their previous owners.

Often these animals are severely dehydrated and malnourished. The DSPCA are committed to never putting a healthy animal down, and attempt to help all animals make a full recovery.

As the animals at the DSPCA have been through a lot, this Christmas time they’re asking the public to embody the spirit of the season, and give a loving home to an adopted pet.

There are plenty of incentives to do this as the organisation will attempt to match an animal to your lifestyle and provide a full aftercare service, including grooming, training and boarding for when you go on holiday.

By supporting your local charity, abandoned and mistreated pets can be given new homes where they get the love and affection they deserve. For any questions about adopting a pet you can call the DSPCA on +353 1 499 4700.

Article by PetInsuranceIreland.com.

Nothing melts our hearts more at PetInsuranceIreland.com than pictures of super cute pets. For your pleasure we have put together a gallery of ten of cutest pictures we have seen this month.

We hope you enjoy our collection of the cutest pets the internet has offer.

How do we know they are the cutest? Well, as an experiment we have taken all these eye-wateringly cute photos from the “Hive-mind” that is Reddit’s “Aww” section.

All the photos here have been uploaded by and voted on by thousands of the internet’s most cute addicted individuals.

One thing we have noticed is that Redditors seem to like cats a lot! Though we have managed to find lots of cute dogs as well

We hope you liked the pictures, and we didn’t overload your cute circuits too badly!

Click here to visit the PetInsuranceIreland.com homepage, check out the latest from our blog, or compare pet insurance in Ireland.

Halloween is a fun celebration, full of fancy dress, fireworks, bonfires and plenty of treats. For many animals unfortunately it can be the complete opposite. Pet Insurance Ireland has compiled a list of tips for keeping your pets and other animals safe this Halloween.

• If your pet becomes ill or is injured please seek veterinary advice straight away.
• Many people celebrate Halloween at home with a bonfire and fireworks. Make sure if you do, that there are no animals nearby, and watch out for any fireworks, sparks or stray rockets, as they could start a fire.
• Always check under the bonfire before lighting, as hedgehogs may be hibernating. Even if you have checked the day before, they could have crawled in overnight.
• Take dogs for a walk whilst it’s still light, as less likely to encounter fireworks, bonfires and people trick & treating.
• Keep your pets indoors once the bonfire & fireworks start, as fire and loud bangs frighten animals. Making sure doors and windows are closed, so that should they become scared, they are then unable to escape.
• Lock the cat flap & place litter trays down for cats, whilst they are locked in doors.
• Make sure all pets are microchiped. If they do manage to escape, animals are often disorientated and scared due to the load bangs, fire & increased amount of strangers. If your pet does become lost, microchiping helps increase the chances of you and your pet being reunited.
• Create a calm and safe environment for your pet. Close the curtains to reduce the flashing bright lights from outside, play some music or put the TV on to drown out the noise of the trick and treaters and the load bangs of the fireworks.
• Keep sweets & fancy dress toys out of your pets reach, as they may ingest them and suffer blockages and or poisoning.
• Place candles and Jack O Lanterns safely away from animals as they can easily be knocked over, especially when an animal is frightened.
• Leave dogs at home when visiting firework/bonfire displays or when trick or treating. It may be fun for us, but it’s actually terrifying for most animals.
• Bring rabbits and guinea pigs indoors or into a disused garage (car fumes are dangerous to animals in a used garage).
• If you are unable to bring your rabbits and guinea pigs indoors, make sure they have an area within their hutch to hide. Adding extra bedding material and covering the enclosure will also help them feel safer and reduce the noise levels.
• Remember birds are scared by loud noises and fire too. Keeping them in a safe place away from any danger and noise and covering their cage and or aviary to dampen the noise, and shut out the light, helps them too.

If you have any concerns regarding keeping your pet safe over the Halloween period, please contact a vet for advice. This list although researched thoroughly, is not exhaustive and is not intended to take the place of expert advice.

Happy World Animal Day from Pet Insurance Ireland.

World Animal Day is a global celebration each year on the 4th October, though often many people and organisations will celebrate the entire week.

At Pet Insurance Ireland, we would like to use the opportunity to thank all the animals that have enriched our lives and thank all the people out there that work tirelessly, to make the world a better and safer place for animals.

World Animal Day originated in Florence Italy in 1931, with the 4th October being the chosen day to celebrate, as it is the Feast Day of the patron saint of animals – St Francis of Assisi.

Although many people the world over choose to celebrate World Animal Day with no regard to political ideology, nationality, religion or faith, many people also like to visit the church on the Sunday nearest to the 4th October, and give blessings to animals and St Francis of Assisi.

With so many animal charities and sanctuaries struggling financially, and over flowing with animals in need of homes, World Animal Day is as good an excuse as any to give them a helping hand.

Depending on how many hours you have spare, there are a number of ways you can help. From dog walking, fussing, grooming, and cleaning out animal kennels, to helping with repairs and fundraising, it all helps.

Whichever way you decide to celebrate World Animal day, it will hopefully highlight to the world our love and respect for animals.

The more people that are made aware of the joy of looking after animals, their needs, and unfortunately their suffering, the more people can make a difference and improve animal welfare throughout the world.

Article by Pet Insurance Ireland.

The charity Captive Animals’ Protective Society (CAPS) along with a number of Irish organisations took to the streets of Dublin earlier this month, to highlight the plight of circus animals in Ireland. They spoke too hundreds of animal lovers and handed out lots of informative material, including the Captive Animals’ Protection Society’s new report, called ‘Ring of Cruelty II’.

In the video above it show’s an elephant balancing on a stool, with a child hanging off the elephants trunk, whilst swings around. According to CAPS’ Veterinary Advisor Samantha Lindley BVSc MRCVS “This powerful yet sensitive piece of muscle is vulnerable to damage and in particular ‘trunk paralysis’.

Rings of Cruelty II was commissioned to understand the current situation regarding circuses in Ireland and provide a comparison to a prior study in 2006 called Ring of Cruelty. The last six years has seen a positive change in the number of animals used, but according to Captive Animals’ Protection Society ‘it is clear that the ongoing campaign to see an end to the use of animals in circuses in Ireland is having an impact, but there is still some way to go to ensure that animal suffering in Irish circuses is ended once and for all.’

2012: Steps forward

- There are now only four circuses using animals in Ireland.
- Overall numbers of animals has decreased to 58: 16 wild animals and 42 domestic animals.
- Importation of animals for circuses has reduced since 2006.
- Funding from Government agency, Arts Council Ireland, for animal circuses has been reduced from €247,000 in 2006 to €103,000 in 2012/2013.

Taken from website

For further information visit:

http://www.irishcircuses.org/ringofcruelty2

To read a full copy of the report rings of cruelty II click here:

http://www.irishcircuses.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Irish_Circuses_2012_merged_lores_Final.pdf