As emphasized in a publication by BBC, the first thing that strikes you during your first stay in England is the absence of stray dogs. Elderly people recall that they last saw stray dogs during the war years, when poor creatures ran in packs searching for their owners.
With cats it is more complicated – you will not meet a single homeless cat on the streets, but in forests and fields live feral descendants of cats that long ago ran away from home. It is impossible to tame them, so animal rights activists only monitor them, as well as catch the sick, feed them, and sterilize them.
“A dog is for life, not just for Christmas”
Stickers with such inscriptions appear everywhere long before Christmas to remind people of their responsibility to animals and society. Every Briton who gets a dog must remember that the country's 1991 Act bans breeds such as the American Pit Bull, Dogo Argentino, Japanese Tosa, and Fila Brasileiro. Dangerous but permitted breeds include Staffies, Rottweilers, Bullmastiffs, and, for some reason, German Shepherds. For the first three, a muzzle on walks is mandatory, but for the Shepherd, they turn a blind eye.
Recently, all dogs in England have been required to wear collars, even though they are painful for small breeds. The collar must have information about the owner, and the animal itself, of course, must be microchipped. Failure to comply can result in a fine of up to £5,000.
Before taking these barkers home, you need to weigh your financial and housing capabilities and the amount of time you can devote to your pet. For example, a visit to the vet in our parts (Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire) starts at £60 (the minimum wage in the UK is £9 per hour) – that's just to cross the threshold; treatment is extra.
Rabies vaccination here costs 8-10 times more than in Ukraine, sterilization costs up to £400 (almost 12 times more than, for example, in Rivne). By the way, if you are not planning to take the animal abroad, you don't even need to vaccinate it against rabies – this disease has long been eradicated here.
The dog will need to go to school, which costs £6-8 for a group session and £10-20 for an individual one. Decent dry food costs £20 for a 15-kilogram bag. The animal must have a cage in a cozy place in the house (I have never seen dog kennels outside at all), a good bed made of natural material. If there is a garden, it must be securely fenced.
“Don't buy, adopt”
Not all potential dog owners realize this responsibility. The same applies to owners of cats, hamsters, and, for example, guinea pigs. Of course, it happens that an owner cannot keep an animal due to their own illness and then gives it to a shelter. But most often the reason for abandonment is that children have already tired of the living Christmas gift, and adults lack the time, desire, or money to cope with the new family member.
Sometimes, during a drinking party, owners play football with guinea pigs or throw a cat instead of a frisbee. Then the animal is forcibly taken to a shelter, and the owners are sent to court.
Even before the first lockdown, we lost our first dog – a Swiss Shepherd named Chanel (she now lives separately with a younger member of our family) – and decided to get the same one from a shelter. It turned out that “adopting” an animal in England is harder than adopting a child in some countries. Not only that, it is expensive: £250-350 for a pet.
First, there was a long correspondence with CGSR – the Central German Shepherd Rescue and its local branch. They asked us to give written permission to contact the vet to find out how well our previous animal was cared for. After a very positive vet reference, a volunteer named Eleanor came to our home and interviewed both of us for three hours, inspected the garden, the house, the height and density of the fence, the availability of safe walking routes, water bodies, and a nearby dog school.
She delicately inquired about family income and directly asked how much time per day we could devote to the pet. She asked about fifty control questions about our behavior in normal and extreme situations. It was a real exam; we passed it successfully and began to wait for an invitation to the shelter.
A month passed – no response. The lockdown was approaching, and we came across Phoebe online, a white puppy recently born on a farm near London. We went, bought her, and kept waiting for news from the shelters. The lockdown began, and almost all dogs were taken home. They told us that there were no Swiss Shepherds anyway, so don't worry.
But now there are many poor souls from... Romania. Local police uncovered a whole network of dog farms where animals were abused, starved, and beaten. The animals are being taken, but new owners have a lot of trouble with them because they are still very afraid of people.
The Queen is against cruelty
In the United Kingdom, in 1822, the world's first trial took place of an owner who mercilessly beat his donkey. The animal was brought into the courtroom at the request of parliamentarian Richard Martin. The farmer was punished, and that same year Martin's Act for the protection of domestic animals appeared, which now has the force of law. And in 1824, the first and largest organization in the world, the RSPCA – the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals – was founded. Traditionally, it is headed by the monarch.
Currently, it is Queen Elizabeth II. During her reign, the organization's activities spread throughout Europe. The prison term for improper keeping of animals increased from six months to five years, and the fine, which was previously £20,000, became unlimited. The RSPCA exists on charitable donations and has its own officers of seven ranks, special uniforms, and powers.
In my observation, pet owners are more often punished not for outright cruelty and the now-illegal docking of tails and ears, but for criminal negligence – for example, leaving a dog in a locked car in hot weather.
A Bone as a Gift
Probably no country in the world is as friendly to pets as the United Kingdom. Dogs, for instance, are allowed into most hotels, pubs, open-air museums, and castles. They are always welcome guests in parks, lawns, and even in campsites where children are not allowed.
At the entrance to a pub, as well as in hotel rooms, there are always bowls of water and biscuits for animals. Everywhere you can find bins for excrement, because cleaning up after your pets is a sacred duty. The village butcher knows the names of all the dogs and, as a reward for buying meat worth £40 or more, will give a huge bone as a "toothpick".
The British are paradoxical people. Often their strict demands for dog discipline are shattered by their considerable love for their pet. My English husband also quickly gave in when Phoebe quietly began to conquer the white leather sofa. Now it is her property, and she is very surprised when someone sits on it.
Overall, the attitude towards pets here can be described in one word – love, full and boundless. People seek to share it not only with their own pets but also with other animals in need. So, every year hundreds of thousands of Britons make voluntary donations to various animal welfare funds – from five pounds a month.
Shelters are provided with everything necessary, but sometimes there are campaigns that make your heart ache. Recently, people were asked to take old armchairs to dog and cat shelters and not to clean them beforehand, so that the animals could feel the lost home warmth and comfort. As one elderly gentleman told me: "In their time, dogs and cats helped people build civilization. It's time to repay the debt."