The Georgian Triangle Humane Society (GTHS) has put out an urgent call for help as the organization tries to find homes for more dogs than it can currently shelter.
According to a news release from the local shelter, the dog kennels have reached capacity and there is still a long waiting list of dogs in need of homes. There has been an increase in the number of dogs being turned over to the GTHS, with 95 pet surrenders so far this year, compared to 74 in the same time period in 2022.
And 2022 was already a big year for pet surrenders.
"In 2022 alone, we saw a 94 per cent increase in dog surrenders," said GTHS executive director Sonya Reichel, in the release. "Pet relinquishment is continuing to rise as pet parents struggle with housing insecurity, rising costs (including veterinary care) and access to resources, such as behavioural support."
The local shelter said there's been an increase in the number of people adopting cats and kittens, but dog adoptions are down by 50 per cent in the first quarter of the year.
"This means that dogs are staying at the GTHS almost three times as long as they were this time last year," states the news release.
The GTHS currently operates out of a 6,000-square-foot facility built and designed for 500 animals, and Reichel said the current situation is dire.
“Our dog kennels have reached capacity with a long list of pups on our waiting list for a warm, safe place to stay," said Reichel in the release. "Just this week alone, the onsite team took in a total of 13 unexpected animals whose situations were so emergent, there was no choice but to help. This puts our capacity for care over 120 per cent. We’ve had lean especially hard on our foster volunteers who are already maxed out caring for pets in need of shelter or emergency board, so we are appealing to anyone who has considered fostering animals in the past to join our team.”
To learn more about adopting or fostering an animal from GTHS, visit gths.ca.
