A growing number of animals need new homes in Toronto as owners who bought pandemic pets in the midst of COVID-19 return to work or struggle with the rising cost of caring for them, city officials have warned.
According to Toronto Animal Services, a city-run agency, there has been a 63 percent increase in the number of pets entering shelters this year compared to the same period in 2021.
“We get a lot of calls from people who need to surrender their animals. All day, every day since our phone lines opened,” said veterinary technician Anneke Miedima.
“We have a lot of animals at the shelter right now and we have a long waiting list of people trying to get their animals.”
In the first half of 2021, 520 pets were handed over to the organization. At the same time this year, 845 pets were brought to shelters.
Anneke Miedima, a veterinary technician, says the shelter has a lot of animals and “we have a long waiting list of people trying to adopt their animals.” (Paul Borkwood/CBC)
The increase is due to the change in lifestyle of pet owners since the pandemic measures were lifted, along with the rising cost of living, said Esther Attard, director of Toronto Animal Services.
“The price of food, everything has gone up. This includes the cost of pet food. Veterinary care may be less accessible. There are fewer vets. There is a shortage right now,” Attard told CBC Toronto.
“And so it might be harder for people to get their pets in.”
Attard says the increase is also due in part to several situations where pet ownership has gotten out of hand in the city, including one case with 80 rabbits in a home and another with more than 200 rats.
“Then we have to step up because there are too many animals in the home. It’s not safe for people’s health to have so many animals,” Attard said.
City bylaws limit pet owners to a total of six cats and three dogs, according to Attard. She says the city will limit rabbits and guinea pigs to four per household.
“That way we can prevent … huge problems around too many animals.”
Esther Attard, director of Toronto Animal Services, says the increase is due to pet owners returning to work as the pandemic eases, along with the rising cost of living. (Paul Borkwood/CBC)
For the first time since 2019, Toronto Animal Services hosted a mobile clinic last Wednesday to provide low-cost microchipping, rabies shots, food and pet licenses to Toronto neighborhoods.
“The prices are too high for pets,” said Taeon Chapman, who got his puppy Milo a little over two months ago and brought him in to be microchipped and vaccinated.
“I feel like people, they shouldn’t be overrated like that. They should be discounted by an amount that people can actually afford.”
Brenda Ford, who has fostered her dog Tiki for more than eight years, says it breaks her heart to hear of more animals ending up in Toronto shelters surrendered by their owners.
For the first time since 2019, Toronto Animal Services hosted a mobile clinic last Wednesday to provide low-cost microchipping, rabies shots, food and pet licenses to neighborhoods across the city. (Craig Cheevers/CBC)
“Affordability is very difficult,” Ford said.
“If you’re going to get a pet, you have to realize that it’s almost like having a child.”
Back at the shelter, Miedima says Toronto Animal Services is doing what it can to support pet owners facing financial hardship.
“We are here to help and we are not the enemy,” she said.
Toronto Animal Services says it uses mobile clinics to help owners foster their pets. (Craig Cheevers/CBC)
“Everyone always wants the best for their animals and we obviously want the best for them. So we are very vocal in saying that we want the best outcome.”
Attard agrees.
“It’s all about being in the community, connecting with people and being more accessible that way as a resource instead of people taking their pets to a shelter,” she said.
“Because it’s a lot harder to take animals in than it is to help them stay where they are.”
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