Pet shelters and humane societies are facing even more overcrowding pressures than normal as a troubling trend manifests itself – the average length of stay of abandoned dogs and cats has increased dramatically in the last couple of years.
The Cochrane & Area Humane Society (CAHS) found a home for rescue dog Paddy last week, after a two-year stay.
Paddy's long stay ties into a concerning trend that executive director Michelle Narang and the shelter have noticed over the past few years. In 2020, the shelter's average length of stay for a dog was 30 days. Now, it's more than 60 days.
They currently have a little over 200 animals in their care, and adopt out between 50 cats a month, and about 40 dogs.
One little known aspect of the stats is that dogs with black fur end up staying longer.
And the longer they stay in the shelter, the more their behaviour can possibly decline because they don't have as much engagement with people.
The Society tries to get animals into foster homes and give them a break from the shelter because it's hard on them to stay kennelled for so long.
To that end, fostering, even on a temporary basis, can be an important intermediate step in helping abandoned pets prepare for a possible permanent “forever home.”
The longer stays are harder on the dogs.
“It does really wear, especially on the dogs and the older animals. You can definitely see the light in their eyes when they know they've gotten their forever home,” Narang said.
“I'm pretty sure they're well aware as soon as that adoption takes place, their demeanour does tend to change, as shelter life is very difficult. So we really depend so much on our fosters, especially because that does change the experience for the animal while they're waiting for their forever home to be able to live in a foster home.”
The CAHS also has a waitlist for people looking to drop off animals, which means for every dog that gets adopted, 10 people are waiting to fill that kennel with their dog or cat they're no longer able to keep.
She said more assistance for pet owners could help mitigate the problem, including governments encouraging more pet-friendly housing and having supports in place for low-income pet owners so they don't feel the need to surrender their animals when finances become an issue.
Narang said the biggest issue in Cochrane is the cost of living across the board is going up and the second biggest issue is a shortage of pet friendly housing.
To punctuate the point, as The Eagle visited CAHS this week, sheriffs dropped off a litter of kittens they had rescued from under a caller’s steps in Fireside, where they had been abandoned.
Narang said a number of humane societies across Canada are lobbying governments to encourage landlords, whether it be through awareness or legislation, to open up the market for some pet friendly housing.
“These two cats that are currently fighting in my office are just an example,” she said.
“They came to us under our emergency boarding program, which is typically folks fleeing domestic violence and whatnot, and the owner was unable to come and pick up her cats because of course now she can't find pet friendly housing.
“But really, it is people's ability to buy dog food, cat food, or human food,” she said.
One of the Society’s biggest operational costs is the on-site animal hospital.
The CAHS is always looking for toys, blankets and crates, food, and cash donations.
For more information on adoptions or to make a donation or volunteer to be a dog walker or a foster care giver go to cochranehumane.ca.
