Winnipeg Humane Society 'at the edge' of crisis mode amid limited capacity
Steinbach and Area Animal Shelter had record-breaking number of adoptions in 2024: president
Despite an uptick in adoptions last year, the Winnipeg Humane Society is still struggling to find space for all of its animals and spent much of last year in "crisis mode," after a string of dog seizures prevented it from taking in more animals, the shelter's manager of adoptions says.
"I think right now we're at the edge … so we're carefully managing it," Daphne Hee said in a Thursday interview with CBC's Information Radio.
As of Thursday, the Humane Society had about 350 animals in its care, including about 169 in foster care, Hee said.
The shelter took in 68 dogs that were living in "horrific conditions" when they were removed from a city home last May. Another 137 dogs, many of which were in distress and living in unsanitary conditions, were seized by the province from a home north of Winnipeg in August.
"When it first happened, the stress on the shelter was definitely first housing. How do we find 50 spaces or 100 spaces for all those animals that's coming in?" Hee said.
Hee estimates more than 100 people called and registered to foster dogs within an hour after it issued a call for help following the first seizure.
She said the rising number of animals in the shelter's care is also tied to more people surrendering their pets because they're not able to cover their vet bills.
"Inflation has made vet care really difficult to afford," Hee said.
The Humane Society's adoption rate has slowed the last two years, with an estimated increase between 2.5 and three per cent last year, Hee said.
"On top of that, the surrendering due to medical reasons has increased [the number of] animals that have been coming in sick … so it's caused the animals to stay in the shelter longer due to all those challenges," she said.
"We couldn't adopt out as fast as the incoming due to all the care that we have to put into … the screening for adoption. So it does create some congestion that leads to the capacity crisis."
Record-breaking year for Steinbach shelter
But not all animal shelters in Manitoba are struggling.
The Steinbach and Area Animal Rescue opened a new state-of-the-art facility last summer, and despite some challenges since then, its president says the shelter saw a record number of cats and dogs find their forever homes last year.
Adoptions climbed from 313 in 2023 to about 400 last year, said Michelle Neufeld.
"It's really picked up, and I believe that is largely due to us having a facility and people having somewhere to go and look at these animals," she said in a Tuesday interview.
LISTEN | Steinbach-area shelter says it had record-breaking year:
A major flood in September wreaked havoc in the rescue's basement, destroying its furnace, hot water tank and a lot of pet food. That set the shelter back about a month, but Neufeld said she's grateful for the community support that followed.
In its new facility, "open-concept" cat rooms have been a big hit, allowing prospective feline owners the chance to spend time with the animals, she said. The facility also has a large fenced-in area for dogs in its backyard.
Before the new facility, the rescue had to rely on foster homes. Neufeld's only regret is not building a bigger facility.
"I just think it gives people a place to come and actually look at the animals and see them beforehand. So it's a lot easier than visiting an animal in their foster home. We try to have as many animals there as possible," she said.
"It's a nice outlet for people to come and check out all the animals."
The rescue recently received a funding grant to be able to build an outdoor enrichment area for dogs in its care. Neufeld hopes that work will begin next spring.
There are also plans for additional spay and neuter clinics, with corporate sponsors providing assistance on that front.
"That's probably number 1 on our goals, is to try and have as many spay and neuter clinics as possible so we can kind of control the situation," she said.
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With files from Radio Noon and Information Radio