It was a heart-wrenching decision for the NWT SPCA to make, but one that became unavoidable.
The shelter’s steady intake of dogs has been temporarily halted due to overcapacity, said SPCA executive director Nicole Spencer.
“There’s an awful lot of dogs in need of help all over the North. That’s kind of the problem. We’re just one shelter and we have a wait list of probably 80 dogs and puppies waiting to come in from the communities that people don’t want any more, or they have a mom that had a litter and we just don’t have the room,” Spencer said.
“But we can only do so much as a shelter.”
For at least the next six weeks, Spencer said despite having a very long waiting list, the shelter has neither the space or staffing available to provide the quality of care the animals deserve if they were to continue intakes from the requests they receive on a daily basis.
“So we’re just slowing it down because we just can’t keep up,” she said.
The NWT SPCA shelters dogs from both the NWT and Nunavut.
Overbreeding issue
One reason for the large population of dogs is that owners are letting their dogs run loose and are not getting their pets spayed or neutered, resulting in overbreeding, said Spencer.
“It’s been an ongoing problem for many, many years. And it’s not getting better. All it takes is for one dog to have a litter, and seven puppies can turn into 25 dogs in a year. So that’s what the problem is.”
A long-term partnership with the University of Calgary has a veterinary team travelling to the Sahtu region on an annual basis to spay and neuter pets which is helpful in curbing the over population, she added.
The spay/neuter program offered by the SPCA will also see a veterinarian technician arrive from the east coast to offer the service.
“But not everybody gets their dog fixed,” said Spencer. “You can offer a solution but if people don’t take that opportunity, then it’s not really fixing the problem.”
And although many people do take advantage of the service, Spencer said there is such a long wait list, not all the spays and neuters can be done at once.
Wanted, unwanted
Yet another issue Spencer said is that there is an overpopulation of dogs not only throughout the North, but in Alberta and B.C., creating a situation where there is no option for them to send the dogs South to those shelters.
Some of that overcrowding is also due to the number of people who brought home a dog, only to later decide they didn’t actually want it, she said. “They got dogs during the pandemic and now that they’re back to work, their dogs aren’t socialized so they have high anxiety, and there many people turning to shelters to surrender their dogs because they can’t or are not willing to do training or just not willing to put in the time.
“It is a huge problem. And I think everybody needs to step up and do their part.”
According to the SPCA’s 2022/23 annual report, 74.4 per cent of total dog intakes were from outside Yellowknife and a total of 361 dogs were surrendered to the shelter.
In 2022, 197 dogs were adopted within the NWT, while 21 were adopted outside the NWT.
For the love of dogs
Spencer said people need to be smart about when they decide to add a dog as a family member and be aware of the level of lifetime commitment involved in its care.
“People think that the SPCA is puppies and kittens and it’s cuddly, but it’s a lot of work and we are short-staffed. So, we try our best and we’re not cold hearted or anything. We do our best and we try to help as best we can.
“But people do have to take responsibility for their animals,” Spencer said.
While the intake of dogs has been put on hold for the weeks ahead, Spencer said if providing food or supplies for the dog in the interim is an issue, the SPCA is able to help supply them with necessities to keep their dog in good health and under good care.
She added that a wait list for intakes will still be accepted by contacting the SPCA and that medical emergencies will be accommodated to the best of their ability.
For people who can take care of their dogs, Spencer said the joy they give in return is unsurpassed.
“You know, dogs given unconditional love,” she said. “And I think that’s also something that people are missing out on. They don’t realize how much a dog can give to them if you just treat them well and take advantage of that love.
“They give back way more than we give to them.”