There are a growing number of animals looking to find new homes in Toronto, as owners who bought pandemic pets at the height of COVID-19 return to work or struggle with the rising cost of owning them. be careful, city officials warn.
According to Toronto Animal Services, a city-run agency, there has been a 63% increase in the number of pets landed in shelters this year compared to the same period in 2021.
“We are getting a lot of calls from callers, who need to deliver their animals. It’s all day, every day since our phone lines were opened,” said animal health technician Anneke Miedima.
“We currently have a lot of animals in the shelter and we have a long waiting list of people who are trying to introduce their animals.”
During the first half of 2021, 520 pets were delivered to the organization. At the same time this year, there were 845 pets taken to shelters.
Anneke Miedima, an animal health technician, says there are many animals in the shelter and “we have a long waiting list of people who are trying to get their animals in.” (Paul Borkwood / CBC)
The increase is due to the change in the lifestyle of pet owners after the pandemic measures were lifted, along with the rising cost of living, says Esther Attard, director of Toronto Animal Services.
“The price of food, everything has gone up. So it includes the price of pet food as well. Veterinary care may be less affordable. There are fewer veterinarians. Right now there is a shortage,” Attard told CBC Toronto.
“And so, it can be harder for people to introduce their pets.”
Attard says the increase is also due, in part, to several situations in which pet ownership went out of control in the city, such as one instance with 80 rabbits in one house and another with more than 200 rats.
“That’s when we have to take a step because there are too many at home. It’s not safe for people’s health to have so many animals,” Attard said.
City ordinances limit pet owners to a total of six cats and three dogs, according to Attard. He says the city will limit rabbits and guinea pigs to four per household.
“That way we can prevent … big 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 subsides, 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 microchips, rabies vaccines, food and pet licenses in Toronto’s neighborhoods.
“Prices are too high for pets,” said Taeon Chapman, who got his puppy Milo just over two months ago and took him for microchipping and vaccination.
“I feel like they’re human. They shouldn’t be overpriced like that. They should be priced lower with an amount that people can really afford.”
Brenda Ford, who has had her Tiki dog for more than eight years, says it breaks her heart to know that more animals end up in Toronto shelters, delivered by their owners.
For the first time since 2019, Toronto Animal Services hosted a mobile clinic last Wednesday to provide low-cost microchips, rabies vaccines, food and pet licenses in the city’s neighborhoods. (Craig Chivers / CBC)
“Affordability is very difficult,” Ford said.
“If you have a pet, you have to realize it’s almost like having a child.”
Back at the shelter, Miedima says Toronto Animal Services is doing everything it can to support pet owners facing financial hardship.
“We are here to help and we are not the enemy,” he said.
Toronto Animal Services says it uses mobile clinics to help owners keep their pets. (Craig Chivers / CBC)
“Everyone always wants the best for their animals and obviously we want the best for them too. So we’re very clear in saying we want the best result.”
Attard agrees.
“It’s about being in the community, connecting with people and being more available that way as a resource instead of getting people to take their pets to a shelter,” he said.
“Because it’s much harder to get the animals home than to help them stay where they are.”