Post-COVID, animal shelters see surge of unethically sourced dogs

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) – Since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, animal shelters have seen an influx of dogs, but many of their previous owners did not acquire them ethically.

The National Animal Rescue and Sheltering Coalition estimates that at the end of 2023, there were around 177 thousand more pets in shelters than at the end of 2022.

“This is a direct result, at least in part, of people acquiring dogs, not just from shelters, but from breeders or online,” said Huck Nawaz, the executive director of the Rockingham-Harrisonburg SPCA. “People have been re-homing dogs, and those dogs have not been altered. In the state of Virginia, dogs are required to be altered before they’re placed in homes.”

Nawaz said rising vet care costs have led many owners to opt out of spaying and neutering their pets, which increases volume at shelters. He noticed that many previous owners who surrendered their dogs to the RHSPCA purchased them via sites like Craigslist and Facebook. Others, Nawaz said, were purchased from backyard breeders.

”There are far more dogs that are born out of ‘oops’ litters, or just from backyard breeders, that may be breeding unscrupulously,” he said. “These don’t necessarily have the breed’s best future in mind.”

Dogs purchased from backyard breeders may have health and behavioral issues.

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