Southern Alberta animal shelters overrun with abandoned pets
Animal shelters across the province are finding themselves frequently at capacity -- or more.
Making things worse is a rise of pet owners abandoning or surrendering their pets.
The Pincher Creek Humane Society got a nasty surprise earlier this week: Monday, staff arrived at work to discover two abandoned huskies tied to the shelter door.
Just a few hours later, three more dogs arrived before someone else showed up with a puppy telling staff they had to take it or the dog was going to the dump.
The shelter is currently housing 25 dogs despite only being designed for 10.
“Pretty much got out of control quickly because we do have a mom with 10 puppies here. We are way over as it is, but it's just the concern of viruses now. Bio-security is a huge thing for us right now,” said Kelly Lepine with the Pincher Creek Humane Society.
More and more people struggling to afford keeping their pets.
It's a similar story at the Claresholm Animal Rescue Society.
They've had to turn dogs away due to overcrowding.
Staff are even needing to take dogs home over night to make room.
“Our abandons and surrenders are humongous, and we're only a small shelter. We only have room for seven dogs and maybe 35 or 40 cats. On average per month I’m turning down between 30 and 40 dogs,” said Lorraine Norgard with the Claresholm Animal Rescue Society.
One of the biggest reasons behind this wave of abandonments is the cost of living.
One of the biggest reasons behind this wave of abandonments is the cost of living.
More and more people struggling to afford keeping their pets.
Norgard said “a lot of people can't afford to feed their family so how do they feed a dog or a cat?”
Resources are available for people struggling to take care of their pets.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
3 injured after man with knife enters Montreal-area mosque
Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.
Police arrest 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole Porsche and ran over its owner
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Woman nearly shut out of mother's estate sues brother in B.C. Supreme Court – and wins
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
Teen arrested in New Brunswick after emergency alert; 5 people in custody
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
Kamala Harris tells Oprah any intruder to her home is 'getting shot'
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday issued a warning to any potential home intruder: 'If somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot.'
'We're still pushing hard': Search for missing Manitoba boy continues, RCMP find tracks
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
On the trail of the mystery woman whose company licensed exploding pagers
What Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, 49, the Italian-Hungarian CEO and owner of Hungary-based BAC Consulting, says she hasn't done is make the exploding pagers that killed 12 people and wounded more than 2,000 in Lebanon this week.
Four dead in northern Ontario house fire
Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.
Top Hezbollah commander among 14 killed in Israeli strike on Beirut
Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander and other senior figures in the Lebanese movement in an airstrike on Beirut on Friday, vowing to press on with a new military campaign until it is able to secure the area around the Lebanese border.