Local humane societies see rise in pets being surrendered hope to keep owners and animals together

The high cost of living has left many pet owners grappling to afford care and food for their pets and it has forced many people to make tough calls between their animal's veterinary bills or feeding their own families. 

This has resulted in animal shelters in Waterloo region and Guelph seeing an increasing number of pets surrendered in 2022.

The Humane Society of Kitchener-Waterloo and Stratford Perth had an intake of 2,344 pets in the last year, a 32 per cent increase from its previous year of just over 1,600.

The term "intakes" include animals that may come in as strays or those surrendered by their owners.

Both animal centres also had a record 1,237 inquiries for surrendering pets in 2022 with another 58 calls coming from outside the area as they were referred from associated local shelters.

This was not isolated to the region of Kitchener-Waterloo, as the Guelph Humane Society also saw a 53 per cent increase in cats coming into the centre in 2022, along with a 33 per cent increase in dogs.

Calla James, a spokesperson with the Kitchener-Waterloo and Stratford Perth Humane Society, said the current financial downturn has a huge role to play in this.

"We've had a number of people not just call us about surrendering their pets, we've also seen a massive uptick in calls from people asking if we have support services," James said. 

The most cited reasons for surrender were for financial or medical reasons with pet owners finding themselves unable to afford care, pay veterinary bills or retain long term medical support for their animals.

Other reasons included behavioural challenges with the animal, owners passing away or pets being abandoned by individuals that were unable to care for them any longer.

James believes that even rent increases create obstacles for many pet owners facing housing instabilities.  

Our number 1 goal is to always make sure people and pets can stay together- Calla James, KWSP Humane Society

She noted there were suggestions earlier in the pandemic that people wouldn't be able to care for their pets once they returned to work, but they're not seeing any hard evidence on that front.

Options are available 

Humane Societies offer a range of subsidized programs to keep pets with their families and encourage owners to explore all available options before surrendering their pet. 

"Our number 1 goal is to always make sure people and pets can stay together," James says.

James says the shelters welcome owners contacting them if they are having challenges. 

"We want to have that conversation," she says. "It's not just picking up the phone and telling us you need to surrender."

Among their support options is the Pet Pantry program which helps support pet owners who are in urgent need of pet food and basic supplies due to a personal crisis or financial limitations.

In addition, many shelters also offer low-cost spay or neuter services as well as assistance with animal behavioural issues. 

Adoption rates on the decline

Lisa Viet, executive director at the Guelph Humane Society, highlighted that animal shelters are also experiencing the impact of inflation. The rise in cost of food and veterinary care affects them exponentially due to the number of pets in their care. 

"Many times [these animals] do need medical care or other supports," Viet said.

A coinciding challenge for animal shelters is that while more pets are being surrendered to them, there has been a decreasing interest in adoptions over the past year.

"There just aren't as many potential adopters looking for pets, as there were early on in COVID," she says. 

"There isn't that same pool of adopters that are putting in applications."

The disruption in flow of animals coming in compared to those that are leaving has forced humane societies to manage their intake volume through a pet surrender wait list for owners who are not in emergency situations to bring them their animal at a future time.  

Abandonment creates a lack of trust

"Coming into a shelter can be a highly stressful situation for an animal. And that's why we believe that keeping a pet in a home really is the best thing for them," James said. 

Dr. Sagi Denenberg, a veterinary behaviour specialist in Toronto believes that regardless of the type of animal, abandonment can lead to a lack of trust, and create attachment challenges when a new home adopts them.

"It's a huge trauma," he said. "That domestic animal depends on you for everything."

He believes animals aren't as resilient as we may think and encourages people who are considering adoption to do their research on the resources available before making a final decision. 

"There are options available to help owners both in terms of time management, but also in helping pets to cope, either to cope when you adopt an animal from a shelter, or to help cope so you don't have to surrender an animal to the shelter to begin with."