Demand for rescue dogs high in P.E.I., across Canada
'We sometimes see them get adopted within the hour'
It's the happiest problem an animal shelter can imagine — empty kennels. And it's happening more often at the PEI Humane Society's shelter in Charlottetown, as well as other shelters in Canada.
The speedy adoption of 16 dogs at the PEI shelter this week — all 16, seized from an Island breeder, were made available last Monday and were adopted by the end of the day Tuesday — illustrates the fact this and other shelters are facing.
"This is a question we get quite often here at the PEI Humane Society — why are there no dogs?" said Jennifer Harkness, development coordinator with the PEI Humane Society.
"They do get adopted very quickly, especially if it's a really cute dog that perhaps can go to any kind of home — we sometimes see them get adopted within the hour!" she said.
'We only have so many dogs'
Last year P.E.I.'s shelter took in 326 dogs, returning 123 to their owners and adopting out 150 others.
That's a big change from just five years ago, when it took in 616 dogs, returning 190 to their owners and adopting out 321 — that's almost 200 fewer dogs available for adoption.
P.E.I. is seeing the same trend as other shelters across Canada, Harkness said — a declining number of dogs being surrendered, with an increasing popularity of dog ownership. The result is a lineup of three or four families being interviewed, competing for the chance to adopt one dog.
"We certainly don't want to disappoint people, but at the same time we are a shelter, we only have so many dogs," Harkness said.
"Because we're seeing dogs come back in and sometimes re-homed multiple times, we are very cautious who we adopt our animals to."
'More responsible dog owners'
The adoption process is rigorous, Harkness said — prospective owners must specify how they plan to train a dog, how often they'll walk it, and the environment at home including other pets and children.
"We just really want to make sure that that animal — whether it's a dog or a cat — is going to the right home that they need to go to. We're always coming from the perspective of the animal," she said.
Adopters who have previously owned the same breed and who have adopted from the society before and have a positive history can be pluses on an application, she noted.
Spay and neuter programs have improved, Harkness said, pointing to SpayAid PEI's program to provide cheap neutering for low-income households.
"We are also seeing a trend with more responsible dog owners, less dogs at large, more bylaws in municipalities," Harkness said.
'Perceived value'
A decade ago, about 600 dogs came in to the shelter, but fewer than a hundred owners came in to claim their pets. Last year, more than a third of the dogs were returned to their owners. One reason is more pets are being embedded with microchips now, making it easier to track down owners.
"That's quite a difference — if you look at the intake of cats, we had 956 cats come into the shelter, and we only had 69 returned to owner," Harkness points out. "So that's sort of the perceived value — people perceive dogs and cats differently." Cats deserve the same treatment as dogs, Harkness said — and urged prospective dog owners to consider a cat instead.
The shelter must also sometimes restrict the number of dogs it takes in to prevent overcrowding — especially when staff are already looking after a large number of rescues, as they did for the last month with the 16 neglected dogs they were rehabilitating, Harkness said.
Prospective adopters should "be patient," and keep a very close eye on the shelter's website, Harkness suggests, and also widen their search to other shelters in the region. Responsible breeders are also an option, she added.
While the P.E.I. Humane Society has considered bringing rescue dogs in from other areas including the U.S., Harkness said they're reluctant because they need to keep space available for a large number of local rescues that could suddenly flood in at any time.
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