Abandoning your dog is a crime punishable by heavy penalties, but do you really know what owners who abandon their pets risk? From common misconceptions and recent statistics to a reminder of the law, I'll explain everything about pet abandonment in France.

When I created EmmèneTonChien.com, my primary goal was to make vacations and leisure activities with your dog easier. Over the years, this mission has also naturally led us to the fight against pet abandonment.

By making dog-friendly accommodations, activities, and destinations easier to find, we aim to remove some of the barriers to traveling with your pet. We've also created the Advantage Card, a portion of whose proceeds goes to helping abandoned dogs.

On our scale, we try to act before abandonment, by making life easier with one's dog, but also afterwards, when some animals unfortunately need to be rescued.

However, it's important to be precise: abandonments linked to holiday departures represent only a portion of the phenomenon. According to the latest estimates from the Observatory for the Protection of Domestic Carnivores, between 281,000 and 398,000 dogs and cats could be abandoned in France by 2025. This wide range is explained by the different calculation methods used and the difficulty of precisely tracking the journey of each rescued animal.

These figures therefore do not only correspond to animals left by the side of a road or tied to a tree. They also include animals handed directly to a shelter or those found wandering and unclaimed.

Contrary to popular belief, the number of dogs taken in for care doesn't necessarily skyrocket during the holiday season. A national study published in 2025 by the SPA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and the Affinity Foundation shows that it remains relatively stable throughout the year. The sharp increase observed in spring and summer mainly concerns cats, particularly due to the kitten season.

This does not make illegal abandonment any less serious. Leaving your dog on a motorway rest area, by the side of a road, or tied to a tree because it has become a nuisance remains an act that is as cruel as it is inexcusable.

Summary

Not all abandonments are the same.

However, a crucial distinction must be made.

Life can sometimes force a person to part with their pet: hospitalization, entering a nursing home, death in the family, loss of housing, major financial difficulties or physical inability to continue taking care of it.

Contacting a shelter, association, or new owner to legally arrange for the care of your dog is often a painful decision. However, it can offer the dog a second chance in a family capable of meeting its needs.

This has nothing to do with throwing your pet out and condemning it to hunger, fear, accidents, or death. It is considered abandonment, certainly, but that word carries a heavy weight when you have to part with your faithful companion and adds to the owners' guilt.

In the 2025 study by the SPA and the Affinity Foundation, these voluntary and organized surrenders to a shelter are classified under the term "direct abandonments." They are therefore included in abandonment statistics, even though they have nothing to do with intentionally leaving an animal in the street or in the wild.

This also shows that the most frequently reported reasons for surrendering a dog directly are the owner's physical incapacity (28%) and life disruptions (24%). Unfortunately, behavioral problems account for 18% of cases.

A dog is not an object to be thrown away

What I can't understand is those who abandon their dog like an unwanted object. Those who leave it tied to a tree, on the side of a road, in a motorway rest area or locked in an empty house, without caring if it will be hit by a car, die of hunger, thirst or fear.

Dog and human

According to an Ipsos survey published in 2023, 68% of French people consider their pet to be a member of their family… I don’t understand how some people can be so cruel.

A dog adopted because it was small and cute grows into an adult with needs, a personality, and sometimes difficulties. It might bark, destroy things, run away, or misbehave. But when you haven't taken the time to train it, understand its needs, or seek guidance, you can't simply abandon it as the holidays approach because it's become too difficult to manage. 

That's also why at EmmeneTonChien.com , we've compiled thousands of addresses (accommodations, activities, and restaurants) to make vacations and everyday life easier for millions of French and European pet owners. We work every day to make it increasingly easy to share life with your dog.

For me, these images of abandonment are unbearable. A dog doesn't understand why the person it trusted suddenly disappears. It waits. It searches. It's afraid. And it could pay with its life for a decision made by someone who is simply continuing on their way to vacation.

Legally parting with your pet because you truly have no other option is heartbreaking. Intentionally abandoning it in the wild or on the side of a road is an act of cruelty. And that's why the law condemns it!

Up to five years in prison

In France, abandoning a domestic animal is a crime. It is punishable by three years imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros.

When an animal is knowingly abandoned in conditions presenting an immediate or imminent risk of death, the penalties can reach four years in prison and a €60,000 fine. If the animal dies, the sentence can be up to five years imprisonment and a €75,000 fine.

Additional penalties may also be imposed, including:

  • the prohibition, temporary or permanent, of owning an animal;
  • the confiscation of the animal;
  • the obligation to complete, at their own expense, an awareness course on the prevention and fight against animal abuse.

An animal is neither a toy, nor an impulsive purchase, nor luggage to be disposed of when it becomes cumbersome.

Before adopting, you must think things through. Before abandoning your pet, remember that there are always other solutions: ask for help, board your dog in a kennel or with a pet sitter , go on holiday with your dog, or, as a last resort, arrange for its responsible care.

What should you do if you witness an abandonment?

If you witness an abandonment or discover an animal in danger, your testimony can help to rescue it, but also to identify and prosecute the perpetrator.

In case of abandonment or immediate danger, contact the police or gendarmerie immediately. Try to provide as much useful information as possible:

  • the precise location and time of the events;
  • a description of the person and the vehicle;
  • the license plate, if you can note it down;
  • photos or videos;
  • any element that could help to identify the person responsible for the abandonment.
Reporting an abandonment

You can also report using the official form dedicated to acts of animal abuse , contact the Departmental Directorate for the Protection of Populations (DDPP) or notify an animal protection association.

The goal is to gather evidence without endangering yourself or delaying the animal's rescue. Do not take risks to pursue or confront the person: call the police and remain available to provide your statement.

I am realistic: this article will probably be read by people who love animals, respect them and would never dream of abandoning their dog on the side of a road.

Like the upsetting television campaigns broadcast every summer, it will probably not change the minds of those who still consider an animal as an object that can be disposed of when it becomes cumbersome.

But remaining silent would certainly not move things forward.

While it may not be able to touch the conscience of those who have none, this article will at least have the merit of reminding us of one essential thing: abandoning an animal is a crime heavily punished by law.

And if compassion is not always enough to make people think, perhaps the prospect of several years in prison, tens of thousands of euros in fines and a ban on owning an animal will stop certain actions.

When there is no spark of the heart, sometimes the reminder of the stick remains.

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