'They deserve a home': Regina Humane Society struggles to keep up with dog intake
The Regina Humane Society (RHS) is facing difficulties as the number of dogs in their care continue to increase.
“You’ve got these perfectly wonderful animals … and they deserve a home,” RHS spokesperson Bill Thorn told CTV News. “They’re not here because of a fault of their own. So I think frustrating is the one word I would use and it feels heavy sometimes too.”
The society is seeing a significant increase of the number of dogs in their care, something that can create a variety of problems for the facility, according to adoption councillor Jacquelyn Acaster.
“If we don’t have spaces up in adoption to move animals up from the back, it kind of bottlenecks and we’re just worried about maybe another intake freeze like we had back when COVID happened,” she explained. “No one wants to see that, it’s a whole other list of challenges that we don’t wanna face at this time.”
While many dogs are top of mind at the moment, the facility is seeing the number of cats steadily rise as well, which they fear might be the next problem to address.
The reasoning behind these high intake numbers could come from a variety of factors, according to RHS staff.
Increased cost of living, a veterinary shortage, housing problems, and the aftermath of many people adopting pets during the COVID-19 pandemic all play a part in the problem.
“All of those things have combined for kind of the perfect storm,” Thorn explained. “People aren’t able to keep their animals or in some cases, if they’re in here as a stray, they’re not being reclaimed.”
While the RHS has recently moved to their new, larger location in Harbour Landing, the new facility was never intended to house a larger number of animals.
“The current building, the new one, doesn’t hold a lot more than the other one did. The idea was not to build a big warehouse for animals. That’s not best practice, so it holds roughly the same, a little bit more but not that much more,” Thorn explained. “Most of the additional space is for things like education or a vet clinic, and public space like we’re standing in now.”
If the numbers continue to grow, the RHS may be forced to implement another intake freeze.
“We’ve been through a couple already in my time here. I tried not to think too hard on it because I can’t change anything about it so all we can do is just try to make sure that we get animals out as fast as possible,” Acaster said.
Currently, all dogs staying with the RHS are available for just $25 – in an effort to encourage adoptions.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadians are eyeing moves to these cities for more affordable housing
Faced with elevated housing prices, half of Canadians in the country's largest cities are considering moving to places with more affordable housing.
Poilievre says Canadians 'fleeing' to Nicaragua, Liberals say it shows he 'doesn't have a clue'
Liberal parliamentarians are criticizing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre over a new video in which he promotes the idea that some Canadians are 'fleeing' Canada to live in Nicaragua because they can't afford a house in this country.
With DNA break, police ID victim in decades-old Newfoundland case
A skull was found along a backroad near St. John's more than 20 years ago. Now, police have finally identified the victim of the homicide.
'Do not drive': Nissan warns Canadian drivers of explosion risk impacting 48,000 vehicles
Car manufacturer Nissan has issued a do-not-drive warning for some older vehicles equipped with Takata airbag inflators, due to the risk of explosion during a crash.
Infant dies in ATV crash, N.S. RCMP says alcohol may be a factor
An infant has died and three others, including another child, were taken to hospital following an ATV crash in Forties, N.S., on Monday.
Tessa Virtue reveals she's expecting her first child. Here's what Canadians had to say
Canadian figure-skating icon Tessa Virtue is expecting her first child, she revealed via social media Tuesday.
McDonald's says $18 Big Mac meal was an 'exception' and their prices haven't risen that much
McDonald’s is fighting back against viral tweets and media reports that it says have exaggerated its price increases.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's housing plan defeated in House of Commons
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's housing bill has been defeated in the House of Commons with the Liberals, New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois voting against the legislation.
B.C. man to be extradited to U.S. on charges of sexually assaulting stepdaughter
A British Columbia man will be extradited to the United States, where he faces a possible life sentence if convicted of charges that he repeatedly sexually assaulted his stepdaughter, after losing his appeal of the extradition order Tuesday.