How much is that doggy in the window? That Christmas present of a dog or a cat always seems a good idea for junior - before Christmas. Afterwards, however, others are left to deal with matters. The Cork Animals Home is one such organisation. Denied Lotto funding, denied help from Cork County Council, hugely dependent on voluntary subscriptions and on minimal support from Cork Corporation, the home has had to scramble to find the necessary £100,000 to run itself each year.
People are cruel. When things fail to work out with the new dog or cat, there is a simple expedient. For all the world it resembles neatly tying up plastic bags of rubbish in cars during the Sunday drive and disposing of them through the car window, usually in a beauty spot. Except in this case the pets are allowed to roam free for a moment before the car takes off.
Christmas pets are not the only ones in jeopardy. Increasingly, according to Mr Alan Tuohy, manager of the Cork home, old and infirm animals are being taken for a ride and dumped on the side of the roads by their "loving" owners. Once-cherished dogs and cats roam the streets, picking up all sorts of viruses, including the parvo virus - a flu-like condition that can kill in 24 hours - and then they must be put down.
This week, the home is about to launch an appeal. It is an important event. The premises which has given shelter and succour to so many animals since it was established in 1936 is in urgent need of modernisation. The cost could well be in excess of £100,000. Any day you pass by you will see adults, usually accompanied by children, gazing through the peephole at the forlorn animals inside. They are cared for, of course, and treated in a kindly manner but, if no one comes to adopt them, their fate is sealed.
The Cork Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is affiliated to but separate from its Irish namesake. Its dog warden's salary is paid for by the city council but that's about where the official funding ends. Applications to the National Lottery and to Cork County Council have fallen on deaf ears. The home has a staff of five, including Mr Tuohy, a kennel man and an inspector who deals with all the cruelty cases in Cork as part of his normal duties. The dog warden's salary is subvented to the tune of £16,000 annually by the city council.
According to Mr Tuohy, the home is losing more than £30,000 a year - yet its service to the public is one that has a vital impact. While the Christmas obsession with giving pets to children is on the wane, he says, the point is that dogs and cats are still being abandoned when the new owners discover what keeping a pet really entails.
When I spoke to Mr Tuohy recently, 10 animals were having their last meal. The following day, they would be dispatched.
The home is visited regularly by a veterinary surgeon who makes the decision on whether an animal should live or die. This is based purely on the animal's best interests. If it is healthy, every effort is made to place it with a sympathetic family.
A friend who found a stray bitch recently brought it into the home and found help for it. The animal was fit and healthy but, unless a good home can be provided for it, it has only a 50 per cent chance of survival. His own much-loved dog once went missing. He scoured the streets to no avail, and finally telephoned the Animals' Home. He described the dog. "We have him here - come in - the poor old thing can't wait to go home," a friendly voice said.