Some animals are spending longer than usual — nearly double the amount of time — at the Montreal SPCA while awaiting adoption.
Montreal’s traditional July 1 Moving Day is usually crunch time for local shelters, who must prepare for an influx of surrenders — but cages at the Montreal SPCA have been full for months.
There are typically low and high seasons at the shelter, general director Laurence Massé said Wednesday, but the shelter has been operating at capacity lately amid what appears to be a nationwide trend of increased surrenders and fewer adoptions — most notably among dogs.
At the same time, they’re spending longer than usual — nearly double the amount of time — in the shelter once they’re there.
“This year, our cages of dogs were full all year long,” Massé said. “So it’s really, really, really huge.”
The shelter saw a 21-per-cent increase in overall pet surrenders in the first few months of 2024 compared with the same period last year, Massé said, and the same increase over the those periods between 2022 and 2023. For dogs specifically, the increase stood at 35 per cent this year compared with last.
An initial post-pandemic increase was expected, Massé said, since thousands of people adopted pets they later realized they couldn’t care for once life went back to normal. But the trend continued, and the shelter eventually realized that one of the main reasons is inflation, Massé said.
“It’s really, really hard for owners to keep up with all of the expenses,” she said.
That includes expenses to care for a pet in general, but also emergency medical bills — or resources needed in the case of behavioural issues, which are common among dogs that weren’t adequately socialized during the pandemic.
“It comes to a point where the owner doesn’t have resources anymore, and it leads to surrender,” Massé said.
That’s a common scenario of late at Gerdy’s Rescue, said Marilyn Gelfand, a board member and volunteer.
“A lot of the animals we get as abandonments are the emergency clinics are calling us and saying ‘Somebody’s dog just got hit by a car and they left it here, somebody’s dog swallowed a rope toy and needs surgery for $6,000, can you take it on?’,” she said.
Gelfand said one of the issues is that veterinary prices have surged, occasionally leaving people with no choice but to surrender their pets.
Massé suspects inflation is also playing a role in why adoptions have slowed: People can’t afford to take on an animal, or another if they have one already. On top of that, about 200,000 Quebecers got pets during the pandemic, meaning the pool of potential adoptive families has shrunk.
Gerdy’s has had a tough time placing large breeds in particular, Gelfand said. They often spend months in foster care, including a dog Gelfand had been trying to find a home for since September.
“I finally placed her on Saturday in an unbelievable home, but it took that long,” Gelfand said, adding that this seems to be the case for shelters all over the area: “You’ll see the same dogs up for adoption month after month.”
The SPCA Montérégie said it’s dealing with the same situation.
“The amount of people wanting to give up their pets is outstanding and overwhelming,” foster home coordinator Cindy Haché said. “We just can’t keep up with all the requests.”
At the same time, very little rental housing in Quebec allows pets. Just 4.2 per cent allow dogs specifically, Massé said. According to a Léger poll from 2021, 52 per cent of Quebecers own an animal, about half of which are dogs.
“So it’s really, really hard for dog owners to find an affordable housing that allows their animal,” she said.
That’s why Moving Day tends to be a busy time for the shelter. Massé said at least 400 animals — more than one a day — are surrendered at the shelter for this reason every year.
While the situation appears to be worsening, Gelfand and Massé both mentioned that there are some solutions.
In the short term, people can help by adopting pets rather than encouraging breeders who are exacerbating the problem, Massé said. That has the added benefit of ensuring the owner and pet are an appropriate match, reducing the odds of a surrender.
“We really go through the behavioural profile, to the medical profile,” Massé said. “You really know what you’re getting into when you adopt an animal at the Montreal SPCA.”
It’s also possible to foster pets to help alleviate some of the pressure at shelters.
When it comes to the financial aspect of pet ownership, Gelfand suggested owners invest in pet insurance, if possible.
“The Montreal SPCA wants go a step further, and we want to open a low-cost clinic for low-income people,” Massé said.
The other one, Bill 494, would ban no-pet clauses in leases.
All in all, “we do have hope,” Massé said.
“But … we need the population to help us.”