Langley shelter urges breeders to think twice as more dogs surrendered

A Lower Mainland animal shelter is pleading with dog breeders to slow down, saying, in some cases, it’s seeing entire litters be surrendered because puppies aren’t selling.

Sarah Jones, executive director of the Langley Animal Protection Society, says dogs were in high demand during the pandemic. But it’s a different story now, especially with the cost-of-living crisis affecting people across the country.

“We definitely are seeing, across Canada and North America, actually, an increase in vulnerable dogs and an over-population of dogs. I think pre-COVID we had it somewhat under control, but then in COVID, everybody wanted a dog, which was great. And I don’t believe that people are surrendering dogs because they’re now returning back to work, which is what a lot of people thought … It’s the economy, it’s inflation, it’s people not being able to afford their current lives and then having that responsibility on top of it,” said Jones.

‘We are absolutely packed’

According to LAPS, as well as a “significant increase” in pets who are needing shelter, there’s also been a rise in demand for support within the community, for things like food banks and veterinary care.

As more animals are surrendered, Jones says LAPS is also seeing fewer pets reclaimed when they’re lost.

“The economy is impacting people and that impacts animals,” Jones told 1130 NewsRadio.

“We are absolutely packed. We have over a hundred animals in care, some in foster, thankfully — we are so grateful for our fosters.”

Despite the situation, she says some breeders just don’t seem to understand what’s happening.

“We still have an increase happening because of people who are breeding pets thinking that there’s this high demand. There is not a high demand, there is a very low demand right now for pets. We have puppies that are here from an accidental breeding and we basically have no applications for them, which is unheard of,” Jones shared.

“It’s just sort of this compounding factor that’s been happening in animal welfare in general.”

While Jones does advocate for people to adopt animals, she isn’t against responsible breeders.

“I understand a lot of people do want to get, you know, a purebred puppy from a from a breeder and that’s fine if it’s a responsible breeder who’s breeding for a waitlist of people who are committed to that animal long term. However, we do feel like we know our animals, we make sure that your lifestyle matches the needs of the pet, so you have a very good match there, and it can be mutually beneficial,” she explained.

“We are definitely seeing an increase in breeders needing to surrender their pets who have aged out of the ‘cute’ stage,” Jones continued.

“We currently are working with a breeder who has whoodles. She’s unable to care for those dogs that are now eight months to a year and a half of age, and she hasn’t been able to properly care for them. They’ve been not socialized the way that they should have, so they’re a bit more shy, and they’re going to need a little bit more work. So, ultimately, we would like breeders to know that they have adopters, not just breed because they think they’re going to be able to sell their puppies. We would like to see more animals spayed and neutered, and agreements happening about that. We need to go back about 10, 15, years, where spay and neuter was a cool thing, and everybody spay and neuter because we do have a crisis of overpopulation of both dogs and cats, where we had the dog situation under control.”

Whether it’s through a breeder or adoption, LAPS is encouraging people who are planning to grow their families with pets to ensure that they are prepared before making the commitment.

That includes ensuring you can financially support an animal, making sure you have a vet available to you, and that you are also able to afford any unexpected costs.

“Because animals, just like people, have intermittent health issues that can pop up, often at the worst time,” said Jones.

-With files from Dean Recksiedler