Animal shelters and rescues struggling with crisis of animal abandonment

Sep. 17—It could be another unexpected consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic or maybe a sign of difficult economic times.

But whatever the reasons, animal shelters and rescues in Western New York, and particularly in Niagara County, are experiencing what they say is an unprecedented rise in animal abandonment. The number of animals being given up by their owners is creating an overcrowding crisis that has forced some rescues to stop taking voluntary surrenders.

"We are getting record numbers of surrenders," said Maria Sansone from Diamonds in the Ruff animal rescue. "You know people wanted pets for companionship during the pandemic and they're not recognizing that these are forever adoptions. Keeping pets is a commitment. (Abandonment) is so out of control and we're at a loss for what to do."

At the SPCA of Niagara, Executive Director Amy Lewis said the level of abandonment and the number of stray dogs being brought to the Lockport Road shelter in Wheatfield has skyrocketed in the past year.

"It definitely is a crisis," Lewis said. "We're able to move out two adoptable dogs and we think, great, we have a couple of open kennels. and then we get three more strays."

Lewis said some days she comes into work and not only are all of the shelter's kennel's full, but dogs are being housed in emergency cages in the surgical suite.

"Our intake of dogs is up and we have no kennels to accommodate them," the shelter directors said. "It's happening everywhere. It's not just in this region and just at the Niagara SPCA."

Many rescues in the area have been forced to stop their intake of new animals.

"We've run out of room, we've run out of (people who will provide temporary housing for animals as so-called 'fosters')," Sansone said. "Shelters are overflowing and the rescues are too. It's horrible. It's frustrating."

The tales behind the abandonments can be shocking. The SPCA was just able to find a home for Fawn, a Labrador mix puppy, who was found chained to a shopping cart in an open field.

Lewis said pet owners are leaving their animals behind when they move to new housing and some are just leaving them on the streets.

"We got a call recently from a property owner who said, 'Someone just left two chihuahuas in a crate on my front lawn. Can we bring them to you?'," Lewis said. "It's getting desperate."

Asked about the root cause of the escalating problem, Lewis struggles to find a single answer.

"I think housing is part of the problem," she said. "Many of the surrenders and strays have medical issues and so the inaccessibility or affordability of vet care may be part of it."

Dogs represent that largest part of the abandonment crisis. Though cats are contributing to it too.

"It has always been an issue with cats," Lewis said. The overpopulation of cats. The lack of spay and neuter programs for cats. But cats can live on the streets. It's not acceptable to have a population of street dogs."

Lewis also noted that under New York law, cats are not regulated but dogs are.

Sansone said finding more fosters for abandoned dogs would help the problem, but not solve it.

"I don't think there is a solution right now," she said. "People are going to read this story and be sad, but we need more adoptions."

Lewis is also struggling to find a way out of the crisis. She said that having some of the dozen plus local municipalities that contract with the SPCA to provide sheltering services take over that responsibility would provide some relief for shelters.

"But there is no immediate solution," she said. "We can't manage our intake. We have been 100% full or near full capacity for the past 10 months."