Pet owners dump or re-home pets before the baby’s due date

Pet owners becoming parents are ditching their ‘best friend’ in preparation for the birth of their new baby.

Out of nearly 2,000 parents questioned about the preparations they made to make sure their home was suitable for their first child, 24 per cent of  pet owners admitted getting rid of their animal before their baby was born, mainly for safety reasons.

But parents are also dumping their pets because of the added hassle of caring for the animal alongside a baby or, because they could not afford both.

The research conducted by MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, found that the majority – a total of 52 per cent had their pet re-homed, 27 per cent gave their pet to a family friend, but 8 per cent had the animal put down.

Mark Pearson, chairman of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, said: “This research was conducted in a bid to discover more about how Britons prepare their homes for the arrival of their first child, as every family goes through an inevitable nesting process. Whilst pets are popular amongst many households around the UK, they can pose a problem when a child is on the way, both from a safety and financial angle. Whilst the decision to get rid of a pet is very much a personal one, many children are raised with family pets without problem; so parents needn’t feel that the two cannot live in harmony.”