Greater Niagara Humane Society sees a spike in unwanted and abandoned pets
The Humane Society of Greater Niagara is reporting that 2024 has been a disturbing year for pets being surrendered by owners or being dropped off by members of the public who have found abandoned animals.
Statistics provided by the humane society show that 990 surrendered and 1,628 found as strays/abandoned animals have been recorded in 2024 with five weeks to go until the end of the year.
Those numbers are up from 900 surrendered and 1,406 strays/abandoned in all of 2023 and 757 surrendered and 1,078 strays/abandoned in 2022.
The Lake Report has reported on three cases in NOTL involving eight abandoned animals in the past eight months with the most recent being a litter of four 10-week-old puppies left for dead in Niagara-on-the-Green Park on Nov. 19.
In late October, three eight-week-old kittens were found on a walking trail near the water treatment plant on Lakeshore Rd.
And there was the case of Zeus the cat.
That story made headlines in April after the adult St. Catharines feline was abducted by a neighbour and dumped on the NOTL side of the Welland Canal.
Zeus was eventually found near Church and McNab roads and returned home after the neighbour revealed where he had dumped the cat.
Despite an investigation by both police and Provincial Animal Welfare Services, also known as PAWS, no charges were laid.
“It’s been a busy year,” said Cortnie Welychka, senior manager of operations at the humane society.
“Typically, we have a couple of lulls, especially in the beginning of the year and around this time … but the shelter is absolutely full of animals.”
Welychka said when it comes to puppies, 2024 has been the highest post-COVID year for the intakes.
The four puppies — suspected to be a shepherd mastiff cross — that were abandoned last week arrived at the humane society underweight, infected with parasites and in very poor health.
One weighed only two kilograms.
They are now being cared for 24/7 by humane society staff and are mending well.
“They are stable,” said Welychka.
The fact that they were left for dead in a cold park and not brought to the shelter is curious to her.
No animals are refused at the humane society, she said.
“I think people are nervous about our process and things like that and scared to have a communication,” she said.
“If someone is struggling to care for their pet, we encourage them to reach out so we can discuss options and provide assistance wherever possible.”
