Over 20 golden retreiver dogs, including 17 puppies were recently surrendered to the Quesnel SPCA. (Dreamstime)

By Pete McIntyre

puppies

Pandemic dog boom ends, SPCA shelters seeing impacts

Feb 9, 2023 | 8:53 AM

VERNON — The spike in dog ownership during the pandemic has reached the end of its leash, leaving breeders with more puppies than they can find homes for.

It is a sad, but predictable development with people no longer being at home as much, and not having the time or resources to care for dogs.

The BC SPCA is seeing some of the fallout from the changing trend, dealing with a record number of large-scale intakes of dogs and puppies from breeding operations that have closed down.

“People were very keen to get pets during the isolation of COVID and we saw an increase in the number of people breeding animals during that time,” Eileen Drever, senior officer, protection and stakeholder relations for the BC SPCA, said.

She added a return to work for many post-pandemic has altered priorities.

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“Now that people are back to work and to their regular routines, the market has dropped off and we are getting calls for help from breeders who are overwhelmed with the number of animals in their care.”

A recent intake of 21 healthy golden retrievers, including 17 puppies, is the latest in an influx of dogs coming into the agency’s locations in recent months.The 21 golden retrievers were surrendered by a breeder near Quesnel.

Drever said the individual did the right thing for the dogs by reaching out to the SPCA so they could find new homes for them.

“We always want people to contact us if they need help, but the surge in large-scale intakes is definitely putting a strain on our resources.”

Drever said the society is dealing with a number of files involving potential large-scale intakes.

“We know that there are so many dogs out there who need to come in. Our goal is to find space for these animals as quickly as possible so that we can bring them into our care and get them on the path to their new life. We really need the public’s help to make this happen.”

The puppies have been moved to various SPCA locations and are awaiting medical clearance before being placed for adoption.

Drever said the society’s animal protection officers are also seeing more complaints to their helpline about the neglect of animals by overwhelmed breeders.

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