Local humane society has 140 pets looking to be adopted

The Humane Society of Kitchener-Waterloo and Stratford Perth (KWSPHS) has four times the number of dogs in their shelter compared to this time last year.

The Director of Community Engagement and Outreach for KWSPHS, Calla James, told CityNews 570 that January is usually more of a quiet month, but not this year.

“Last year at this time we definitely weren’t this high,” said James.

“Historically you might see the odd puppy come into the shelter and they’d be snapped up quickly, where we have been finding over the last year that a puppy could come in and it could take awhile for a puppy to find a home – it’s really unusual for us.”

KWSPHS is almost entirely full of pets waiting for their forever homes.

They have 48 dogs up for adoption across both centres with a total of 140 animals in care.

More medium to large-sized dogs have been surrendered in the last year due to behaviour issues, said James.

Kitten season has shifted for KWSPHS, instead of spring, it seems to be year-round that they have a large abundance of small kittens in their centres.

James also said their industry tends to shift and see numbers change depending on what is going on economically.

 “The cost of living, the cost of housing, the cost of food, everything is just rising. We’re seeing people struggle with that and I think that’s where we are seeing a lot of calls coming from.”

In the last eight months, James said they have found it hard to find forever homes for dogs, largely due to financial reasons as inflation and the rising cost of living keep going up.

“People are realizing they don’t have the financial means to support food bills or veterinary costs.”

The amount of people looking to adopt a pet has also declined within Waterloo Region over the last year.

“For well over a year now we have found that our dog numbers have been high and in conjunction with the high volume of animals coming in.”

If someone in the community is struggling financially, James said the KWSPHS has resources and services available that could help them out during a difficult time.

“We have so many animals looking for homes, we have so many people who are calling us and have to be put on a waiting list because we need a space to open up in house for that pet to come in,” said James.

Some ways the community can help is by donating to the KWSPHS, volunteering, adopting or fostering a pet. and getting the pets they do have, fixed.