1 In 10 Would Leave Dog Home Alone During Holiday

Nov. 15, 2010 - PRLog -- An anonymous poll by one of the UK’s leading online independent travel agents has revealed that 8% of dog owners think it is OK to leave their furry friend at home whilst they are away on a one week holiday abroad.

www.sunshine.co.uk polled 1,339 pet owners in the UK, asking them questions surrounding their pet arrangements when they went on holiday. 1 in 10 said they thought it was acceptable to leave their dog at home alone during a one week holiday.

94% of the respondents that owned fish would leave them unattended for a one week holiday, whilst 32% of people with a cat would do the same, providing enough food was left down for them to last the week.

81% of those with a ‘small animal’ such as a hamster, rabbit, rat, guinea pig or chinchilla, would leave their pet alone for a week with enough food and water to last, despite all animals needing fresh water and food almost daily.

43% of bird owners would leave their pet at home during a one week holiday, whilst a quarter, 24%, of those with a reptile would do the same. When asked, ‘Have you ever left your pet home alone for a week or longer under any circumstances?’ 28% of the total respondents admitted that they had.

54% of the people asked said that they had asked a friend or family member to look after their pet whilst they were on holiday, whilst 11% used the services provided by kennels, catteries or something similar.

Of the respondents who would leave their pet home alone for a week during their holiday, 41% thought it would do their animal no harm, whilst 9% claimed they wouldn’t want to put anyone out by asking them to care for their pet.

Chris Brown, co-founder of http://www.sunshine.co.uk and ‘Secret Millionaire’ in the recent Channel 4 series, commented on the findings;

“We were very shocked to see how many people would be prepared to leave their pets at home whilst they were on holiday. Whether or not the animal has enough food, water and shelter to last the duration of their owners’ time away shouldn’t matter; the fact is, pets need fresh food and water daily, as well as adequate shelter, so arrangements must be made in order for the animal to be cared for.

“Kennels and catteries can be expensive, but there’s nothing stopping people from asking a friend, relative or trusted neighbour to pop over to your house for ten minutes each day to ensure your pet is being looked after properly. I’m sure a nice souvenir from your holiday will be a sufficient ‘thank you’ gift.”

LINK http://www.sunshine.co.uk

ENDS

For more information, or to arrange interviews with Chris Brown, please contact Shannon Haigh of 10 Yetis PR Agency on 01452 348211 or email shannon@10yetis.co.uk  
Editors Notes

sunshine.co.uk is the UK's leading online independent travel agent and was founded by Chris Brown and Chris Clarkson, the same people behind Holiday Watchdog which was bought by TripAdvisor in February 2008 for an undisclosed amount of money.

Chris Brown of sunshine.co.uk was a ‘Secret Millionaire’ in the series on Channel 4 that began in October 2010.

http://www.sunshine.co.uk offers low cost holidays and budget flights to destinations all over the world as well as great deals and discounted hotels.

TravelMole recently voted sunshine.co.uk as the best Travel Agency in the 2010 web awards.