A one-way ticket to Sweden for Westmeath's unwanted canines

Eilis Ryan


If dogs had an accent, then many of those in Sweden would be barking in Westmeath tones.
That’s because up to 70 a year have been exported from here to Sweden for rehoming in the past few years.
The dogs are animals that owners have failed to reclaim from the Westmeath pound, Westmeath veterinary officer, Seán Ó Laoide has revealed this week.
“What we do is we give them to a charity in Meath, who organise their passports, and have them neutered and arrange transport to Sweden,” he said.
It means fewer dogs who aren’t reclaimed or rehomed have to be euthanised.
Mr Ó Laoide said that rules on dog ownership in Sweden are more stringent than here - and because of the extent of control over dogs and dog ownership, there can even be waiting lists.
“In Sweden, you have to go to classes before you can be approved to have a dog,” he says. Because of the amount of regulation it is expensive to set up a breeding establishment in Sweden, and so, to buy a pup is expensive - in the order of €900 or upwards.
On top of that, the owner will have to pay approximately €1,000 to have the dog neutered.
The attraction of the dogs brought over from this country is that they are sociable animals, already house-trained, neutered, and micro-chipped, which makes the process of buying one more affordable.
The benefit here is that the dogs don’t have to be put to sleep.
Changes about to come in this country from the end of March, will see greater stringency in the management of dogs in this country, Mr ” Laoide continued.
The new laws will mean that all dogs in the country have to be microchipped and registered. Where a dog is sold or passed on to a new owner, the change in ownership will have to be registered, and the sale of dogs without microchips will be illegal.
Details of the coming changes were outlined to farmers by Westmeath Veterinary Officer, Seán Ó Laoide and dog warden Tom Cassidy at an IFA meeting last week.
“Microchipping is now a legal process,” Mr Ó Laoide told Westmeath Examiner in the wake of his address to the IFA.
He said that a major advantage of the new system is that farmers will now be able to identify the owner of dogs found worrying sheep.
It will also, he pointed out, make it easier to reunite owners with dogs who have strayed. Microchipping has already been a requirement for all pups born since June of last year - but now all dogs without chips will have to have the chips implanted, including older dogs that were born long before the chipping technology was introduced.
To comply with the new laws, owners whose dogs are already chipped will also need to ensure the correct ownership details are registered.