City shelters swamped with fur babies, desperate to find them homes

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This article was published 02/07/2025 (186 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Animal shelters across Winnipeg have resorted to reducing adoption fees in reaction to the overwhelming number of rescues who need to find a home.

On Monday, the City of Winnipeg Animal Services Agency slashed its adoption fee to $175 from $330 to get dogs out of the shelter.

“We are desperate for support right now,” said Jennifer Medlicott, the communications co-ordinator at the agency. “We need more families to open their homes, either through adoption or even short-term fostering.”

The Winnipeg Humane Society said it’s straining to deal with a high population of pets.

Carly Peters, director of communications, said the shelter is caring for 400 animals, including 66 dogs, 40 puppies, 136 cats, 156 kittens, and two rabbits. On average, they’ve had to turn away three to seven animals each day due to lack of space.

“This is the new normal here,” Peters said. “We have a comfortable level of animals that we can house, but we’ve been over that for a long period of time.”

Peters said they don’t expect the number of animals at the shelter to drop in the short term and are implementing different initiatives to alleviate the capacity crunch.

Since June 19, they’ve reduced fees for families looking to adopt furry companions and have added complementary behaviour classes post-adoption to ensure dogs are properly cared for.

However, the lower prices haven’t had a significant effect on the number of animals being adopted, she said, because of the cost of food, vet care, and other maintenance that potential pet owners need to consider.

Lynne Scott, executive director at Craig Street Cats, which rescues felines, believes lowering the price of adoption is a bad idea.

She said it opens the door for “unqualified” families to care for animals that require “appropriate care.”

“They usually do not meet the criteria for a successful adoption,” said Scott.

She said Craig Street Cats receives calls to take in 50 to 60 cats each day, but had to shut down the adoption centre in May once the lease on their building expired. Staff work with another organization to take in the cats, but it is over capacity. (The organization wants to remain anonymous.)

Scott said the best they can do is direct the caller to an organization that may be able to help.

“Sometimes people are looking for someone to just swoop in and solve their problem for them, and no one can do that,” she said.

Cats that can’t be taken in are put on a waiting list, unless they are sick, injured, or starving — then they will be given immediate care.

Over at D’Arcy’s Animal Rescue Centre, manager Annie Johnston said they receive close to 10 animals a week, on average. Eleven staffers are currently caring for 120 cats and dogs. They’re around 20 animals under capacity, but have had to waitlist many animals.

“We just have to wait until our animals find their forever homes, and then we can bring in more. That’s all we can do,” said Johnston.

She said cutting adoption fees to help boost adoptions isn’t an option because they don’t receive government funding. Instead, Johnston said they rely on social media to get donations and spread the word about the animals that need a new home.

massimo.deluca-taronno@freepress.mb.ca