Hundreds of animals in SPCA's care as adoptions slow down for 1st time since pandemic began

Ezra, a two-year-old German shepherd was available for adoption through the SPCA as of Aug. 12, 2022. (SPCA)

With pet adoptions slowing down for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the B.C. SPCA says it has hundreds of animals in its care.

Early in the pandemic, the SPCA saw a flood of interest in animal adoption.

"When a puppy came into our care, we would have multiple applications – sometimes up to 100 – within 24 hours," said the SPCA's Lorie Chortyk in a news release.

"People were very keen to adopt, and this interest in adoption has remained strong until now."

Chortyk said there's been an "abrupt slowdown" in adoption applications, even for puppies, which are usually very popular.

"We currently have more than 1,500 animals in our care – about 700 in our shelters and the rest in volunteer foster homes," Chortyk said.

"During the summer, we always have a huge influx of kittens needing homes, but this year we have so many other animals awaiting their forever homes as well."

In spite of the significant number of animals in its care, the SPCA said it didn't see a rise in surrendered animals to its centres, like other Canadian shelters have recently.

"We did not see this particular trend in our facilities, but we always have a lot of animals coming into our care on a daily basis through cruelty investigations, animal abandonment or strays who go unclaimed," Chortyk said.

"Our goal is always to find a wonderful home for these animals as quickly as possible."

While cats and dogs of all ages tend to be the most popular, the SPCA also has many other animals.

"We currently have 110 rabbits available for adoption – more than twice the number we had at this time last year – as well as guinea pigs, hamsters and other small animals, horses and farm animals such as goats, pigs and chickens," Chortyk said.

"We have so many incredible animals in our care who want nothing more than to be part of a forever family."