'We're at capacity': Animal rescue agencies on Vancouver Island overwhelmed as people return to office
Throughout the pandemic, many people started working from home, and in the process decided to get a pet. Now, many are returning to the office, and with that animals are once again being surrendered to shelters.
Eight new puppies have just arrived at the Victoria Humane Society in Saanich from a remote community in British Columbia.
"We’re seeing a lot of puppies, kittens, adults dogs, that normally we wouldn’t have seen before because we would have spayed and neutered," said Penny Stone, executive director of the Victoria Humane Society.
Many remote communities have been closed to outsiders due to COVID-19. Because of that, the Victoria Humane Society hasn’t been able to get into those communities to run its neutering programs.
That program controls the animal population in those remote communities.
Eight new puppies have just arrived at the Victoria Humane Society from a remote community in B.C.: Nov. 10, 2021 (CTV News)
"I would say we’re probably set back 10 years in where we were before (pre-pandemic) because it’s just blown up," said Stone.
The Humane Society is at 100 per cent capacity due to many people returning unwanted pets that were adopted during the pandemic and because of it's suspended neutering programs in those remote communities.
It’s currently housing 100 dogs and puppies and almost 300 cats and kittens. The animals are spread out throughout 350 foster families.
"Over the last few months we’ve had a lot of people contacting us to surrender, specifically with the excuse that they are going back to work and they don’t have time," said Amy McLaughlin, founder and operator of Amy’s Bunny Barn.
Amy’s Bunny Barn in Sooke is full. They have 56 bunnies in care and more than 20 on the waitlist.
"Bunnies are more abandoned than cats and dogs," said McLaughlin.
The big problem that McLaughlin is seeing now is that people are just abandoning their rabbits in parking lots around the Capital Region.
"Which is leading to colonies of rabbits because they have litters every 30 days," said McLaughlin.
Rehousing dogs and cats can be easier than rabbits, but you could imagine the challenges around rehousing a horse.
That’s a problem that the Humanity for Horses Foundation in Duncan, B.C. is now faced with.
"Feed costs are skyrocketing," said Rebecca Sanesh, owner of the Humanity for Horses Foundation. "One, because of the drought, and two because of COVID.”
The rescue operation has 28 horses on its Duncan property. With the rising costs of shipping and hay, as well as some horse owners in Alberta who have lost their jobs, many have decided that they can no longer afford to own their horses.
Back at the Victoria Humane Society, those eight puppies are a few of the lucky one as there was room for them at the inn. Stone worries that many other unwanted animals could be falling through the cracks.
"We’re at capacity and the reality is, what happens to them when we can’t take them?"
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.