Unwanted dogs adopted during the pandemic are flooding Bangor’s animal shelter

Bagheera is a beautiful and playful Great Pyrenees mix who has been at the shelter for more than a year. The 3-year-old has resource guarding issues, meaning she will guard whatever she decides is hers.

They are just a few of the dogs that have been at the Bangor Humane Society shelter for months or years. They’re sweet, lovable and loyal but they also have behavioral problems — some of which developed during the COVID-19 pandemic — that limit who can adopt them.

“They’re great dogs, but a lot of them have special quirks, like they can’t be around other dogs or children,” Kathryn Ravenscraft, the shelter’s development and communications director, said. “Many people looking for a dog to adopt already have a dog or other animals, so taking in a dog that can’t be around other animals is impossible.”

While long-stay pets in the shelter aren’t new, the problem surged this year largely because more people surrendered dogs they adopted as puppies during the pandemic. The Bangor Humane Society now faces a list of more than 40 dogs waiting to be surrendered that is creating concern over the fate of these unwanted animals.

“When a long-stay animal goes home, it’s bittersweet,” Ravenscraft said. “We’re going to miss them so much, but there’s also a sigh of relief when they go out the door and don’t come back.”

More than 23 million American households adopted a pet during the pandemic, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, but many animals weren’t socialized with other dogs or people because of social distancing requirements. When the owners went back to work, it created separation anxiety for the pets, Ravenscraft said.

Many of these animals developed more troubling behaviors that owners were unprepared for, such as a strong fear of strangers and a dislike of other dogs, contributing to the wave of surrendered pets.

“For whatever reason, they’re trying to do the right thing and surrender their dogs to a reputable shelter, but we already have a kennel full of dogs who have been with us for months or more than a year,” Ravenscraft said.

Not only do the long-stay dogs in the shelter have these behavioral issues, but so do many of those on the waitlist. This means there’s a strong likelihood of those dogs facing a similar fate.

“When you’re bringing an animal into your life, you’re agreeing to care for this animal in whatever way it needs,” Ravenscraft said. “That’s something all prospective owners need to weigh.”

Before an owner surrenders their dog, Ravenscraft wants them to consider that it may be waiting in the shelter for months or years before it finds its new home. To avoid this, she hopes owners find another option, as long as the pet isn’t a danger to people.

“It’s the animals that can’t get into our care that keep us up at night,” Ravenscraft said. “All we can do is hope the owner is working through the issues they have with the animal or successfully rehome the animal.”

The upswing in dog ownership also made it difficult for people in Greater Bangor to find a veterinarian, as local clinics struggled to maintain their caseload.

Vet costs — especially for sterilization procedures — also went through the roof. The humane society has heard of local spay and neuter surgeries costing $500 to $1,000 depending on an animal’s breed, size and age, Ravenscraft said.

As a result, fewer dogs and cats were neutered or spayed, and more kittens and puppies were born that were surrendered to the shelter. In the last year alone, the shelter took in 250 to 300 more cats than last year, according to Ravenscraft.

To combat the rising cost of the procedure, the shelter offers spay and neuter vouchers for low-income families and partners with a mobile veterinarian who provides affordable cat sterilization.

All animals that are adopted from the humane society have been sterilized and given age-appropriate shots, Ravenscraft said. But the high cost of that care doesn’t match the shelter’s revenue sources.

Between May 1, 2022, and April 30, 2023, the shelter’s annual expenses of roughly $1.66 million outweighed its revenue of $1.12 million.

“We’ve all seen costs for everything go up in our personal lives — energy, groceries, gas,” Ravenscraft said. “For basics we budgeted for, like utilities, we went way over budget and grants, donations and program incomes didn’t fill the gap.”

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