BC SPCA calling for help amid influx of unwanted pandemic-bred pups
A spike in unwanted pandemic-bred puppies has the BC SPCA calling for help.
The animal rescue non-profit said 21 golden retrievers, including 17 puppies, were surrendered by a breeder near Quesnel recently, and it's the latest in an influx of dogs during the past few months.
Eileen Drever, BC SPCA's senior officer for protection and stakeholder relations, said the organization is struggling and doesn't have the resources to take care of all the animals.
"This is a huge strain on our resources," she said.
"We couldn't do the work that we do without our volunteers and our donors and the fact that we're not government-funded at all, which begs the question, if the BC SPCA wasn't here, who would be doing this? What would happen to these animals? It's quite scary actually," she continued.
Drever said the influx of dogs is due to an increase in backyard breeders looking to make an extra buck during the pandemic.
"I noticed puppies were selling between three and four thousand dollars during COVID, which I thought was outrageous," she said, adding that many breeders are now overwhelmed by the number of animals in their care.
"There are others where they are abusing these dogs and neglecting them and on those occasions, we have to go in there with a warrant and remove these animals," she said.
Now in crisis mode, the SPCA said it can't keep all the dogs at once and is looking for foster homes for the pups until they're ready for adoption.
The increase in surrendered pets is being seen across Canada.
According to Calla James, the director of community engagement and outreach at the Humane Society of Kitchener-Waterloo and Stratford-Perth in Ontario, many people are struggling to keep up with the cost of owning a pet.
She said 2,344 pets were surrendered to the society's centres in 2022, a 44-per-cent increase compared to 2021.
“People are just getting caught coming out of the pandemic, with inflation being so high as it is, and now looking at, 'Am I feeding my family or feeding my pet?'" James said.
Drever has also noticed pet owners are struggling financially in recent months.
"There has been an increase in us providing food to the food banks," she said.
But Drever said there's no excuse for pets not to be fed and provided basic necessities, adding that those who are struggling should reach out, as help is always available.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.