Keeping a pet is a big expense! Ashley Goudou, a 20-year-old boy from Bristol, England, works seven days a week in order to feed eight pets and maintain a living. He only eats instant noodles for three meals and has trouble bathing. It is a very hard life.

According to the "Mirror" report, Ashley lives alone in a small room in an apartment and has 4 dogs and 4 cats. In order to pay the bills and support himself, he works in a factory 7 days a week, 10 hours a day, earning 6.81 pounds an hour. He couldn't afford a bicycle and had to walk for an hour in the dark to get to the company; because he couldn't afford the water bill, he went to the gym to take a shower and ate instant noodles to survive because it was the cheapest meal he could afford. At the end of the month, he was always worried that he wouldn't have enough money to feed his pets, and he would rather go hungry than feed them.

Ashley worked as a caregiver when he was 16 years old, with a monthly salary of nearly 2,000 pounds. However, since last year, the cost of bills and food has tripled. He spends more than 1,000 pounds a month on rent, gas, water and Internet. Plus paying for pet food and care, there is not much money left to spend on himself. "I never know whether I will have enough money at the end of the month to take care of myself and my pets. I am really worried."

Because he owed a lot of unpaid fees, Ashley's internet and gas were cut off. He relied on donations from the animal rescue center to feed his eight beloved pets. He would go to the community center every Wednesday for free veterinary checkups and receive dog beds, cat litter and food. "Without these donations, I wouldn't have been able to survive until now, but I can't take too much because other people are in worse situations than me."

Ashley is considering two jobs in the future because the prices of electricity and natural gas have become more expensive, and even pet food prices have increased. In the past, he spent less than 1,000 pounds a month on pets, but now it has skyrocketed to 3,000 pounds (approximately RMB 26,000), which is far higher than his salary. He is struggling. "I can take care of them, but I don't know if others can give the same care, so I would rather not support myself."

It is understood that Ashley had a friend who was unable to take care of 12 stray cats during the quarantine. He kindly adopted 4 of them, and later added 4 bulldogs. As an animal lover, he determined to become a veterinarian one day. He also said that pets are the lifeline of his mental health and happiness. "I separated from my partner at the beginning of this year and had bad thoughts. It was the dogs that kept me going and gave me a goal." However, in order to take care of his pet, he could only eat three meals a day before, but now he can only eat instant noodles and have to walk to the gym to take a shower. He couldn't help but sigh: "This is ridiculous!"