High demand for service leaves Stratford-area humane society in crisis

With 345 animals currently in care between its two shelters and various foster homes – and 139 more waiting for help – the Humane Society of Kitchener-Waterloo and Stratford-Perth is operating in crisis mode.

The local humane society issued an urgent plea for community support this week as skyrocketing demand for its services, coupled with a high number of calls for help from pet owners, have become more than the non-profit organization can handle.

“Our kennels are constantly full, regardless of whether we’ve just hosted an adoption event like we did in June. They’re full right away,” said Calla James, the local humane society’s director of community engagement and outreach. “We’re also seeing waiting lists grow. We had 139 pets on our waiting list as of yesterday, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s gone up. Under seven days ago, we were at 102, so the numbers are jumping very quickly.”

The area human society is also facing staff shortages and a dearth of foster families, particularly in the Perth County area.

“We’ve been doing callouts (for pet fosters) for a year now and we’re struggling with finding foster homes there. And of course, the economy isn’t helping things. We’ve seen our adoptions slowing, and we’ve been seeing that for a little while now, and demand for our programs like our Pet Pantry and our low-cost vet services are skyrocketing.

“We also have a really high volume of people calling us for other services we don’t offer, and they’re just going, ‘What do I do? … I have to choose between paying rent or (helping) my pet.’”

Those seeking the humane society’s help, whether through offered programs or because they’re looking to surrender a pet, typically cite financial reasons and changes in lifestyle as their reason for reaching out,” James said.

Regardless of the reason, James said the number of pet surrenders is growing faster than the humane society can find people to adopt the animals currently in care.

Others, she continued, are looking to surrender animals because of behavioral issues they can’t handle. In many cases, and based on their ages, she said large breed dogs adopted during the pandemic are often being surrendered because they didn’t receive the right training, if any, and were not properly socialized with other dogs and people.

“There’s lots of things people can do to help with the capacity issues we’ve been seeing,” James said. “If you’re a pet owner, please support the pet population in general by making sure they are microchipped. If they get lost and they end up in our care, we’ll know how to get them back quickly. We have a lot of lost pets in care that we can’t get home right now, and that’s a big challenge.

“Second, spay and neuter your pets. Make sure you’re not contributing to overpopulation. We have so many pets looking for a home and a huge amount of kittens and puppies this year.

“If you’re not a pet owner or a pet owner looking for another furry friend, please consider adoption before purchasing. We have so many pets in shelter right now. This is not just a trend we’re seeing here, but across Ontario and the country and North America. We need people to adopt.”

James said the local humane society is always looking for more foster homes to keep pets out of shelter. Associated costs are covered by the organization. She also encourages anyone considering surrendering their pet to reach out to the humane society first to discuss other solutions.

Anyone who is unable to adopt or foster a pet can contribute with a financial donation or the donation of an item on the humane society’s wish list.

For more information on the programs available and ways to support the Humane Society of Kitchener-Waterloo and Stratford-Perth, visit kwsphumane.ca.

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