Animal charities are urging prospective owners to consider their finances before getting a pet.
It's National Puppy Day and one charity says it's already seeing an increase in owners having to surrender their pets because of the rising cost of living.
"We've had a lot of calls and emails and people turning up with pets. It's getting serious.
"It's been going on a wee while but is definitely escalating," says Carolyn Press-McKenzie, chief executive of the animal charity Helping You Help Animals (HUHA).
And that's because the cost of living is increasing. With inflation at a 30-year high, it's becoming too expensive for many owners to care for their pets.
"To actually have to try care for a pet, get it into daycare, vet costs - everything that comes with it is too daunting so they are letting their pets go," Press-McKenzie says.
The SPCA hasn't seen that increase but it's worried the rising cost of living may force pet owners to forgo vital things like desexing - which can cost hundreds of dollars.
"We have heard of people who are putting off desexing because of the price, which is why we really encourage people to take advantage of the snip and chip campaigns we have running," SPCA desexing manager Rebecca Dobson says.
The charities are using National Puppy Day to encourage owners to adopt pets rather than buy them, especially with HUHA seeing a lot more pups being surrendered.
But the SPCA urges prospective owners to do their homework first.
"Look into things like desexing, vaccinations are incredibly important, defleaing and worming," Dobson says.
