Vancouver BC SPCA animals looking for their ‘fur-ever’ homes

Sunday marked National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day and tens of thousands of animals across North America are still patiently waiting to be adopted.

To celebrate the day, the Vancouver BC SPCA had adoption fees at half-price over the weekend.

“We just invited people down to meet the animals and hopefully find a home,” Mandy Isaacs, the assistant manager of the branch, said.

Isaacs says if anyone is interested in finding a fur-baby they should check their local shelter.

“They’re just so overpopulated and these animals never asked to be here. They’re just great pets with different sizes and different behaviours that can meet everybody’s needs. If we can give them a home and keep them out of shelters — that’s our goal at the end of the day,” she said.

She says there has been an increase in animals being surrendered in the city this year.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing a lot of people with a loss of housing in the Vancouver area and so we will get a number of calls every week of people needing to surrender their animals due to that loss of housing which is quite heartbreaking for everybody,” Isaacs explained.

One of her favourite candidates that is up for adoption is four-year-old Ruger, a labrador retriever mixed with a pit bull terrier.

She says the dog is sweet and enjoys living in the city.

“One of our teammates took him on a jog yesterday with a running club and he had so much fun with the other dogs and other people and didn’t seem at all phased by city life. He’s a happy guy,” she said.

The day did see some adoptions, like one 10-month-old German shepherd named Chimmini who went home with her new family Sunday.

But the BC SPCA says there are still other dogs, cats, and rabbits waiting for someone to give them love.

The SPCA adds if you have any extra pet things they are accepting donations.

“We are always accepting donations — towels, blankets, toys, unopen food, harnesses, leashes, collars — we will take all of it and put it to good use,” Isaacs said.

For more information, or to see what pets are available for adoption, click here.