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Winnipeg Humane Society CEO Jessica Miller said they recognize that the people who dropped off a total of 10 animals at their shelter overnight Friday thought they were doing the best they could.
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She just wishes that they had given their staff a chance to see if there were other options before dropping their animals off literally at their doorstep.
“We have so many programs for social services that people need,” said Miller. “We deal with 10,000 animals a year, and about 6,600 of them come in-house. We want to keep people and their animals together and if these people would have come during working hours maybe we would have been able to help them depending on what their circumstances were.”
Winnipeg Humane Society said in a Facebook post Saturday that staff found a dog tied to a tree, a box of six rats and a mother cat with two kittens on their property which had been left overnight.
“(We) Never mean to shame anyone for trying to do the right thing,” said Miller. “Everyone’s circumstance is different and our circumstances are different depending on our time and capacity. We’re happy that these people tried to do the right thing. We wish they could have done it during working hours so that we could fully care for the animals.
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“But it’s hard times right now.”
A note was found with Ripp the two-and-a-half-year-old springer spaniel saying that he was a “good dog” but that his owner has to “work out of town, this is last resort. Sorry!”. A similar note was found taped to the box of the pet rats indicating that the owner was homeless and appeared to be escaping an abusive domestic situation.
“They’re scared and so am I,” part of the note reads. “Will send money when I get situated. Living in my car right now.”
“What I’ve learned since I’ve been here in the post-COVID days is people are in desperate situations,” said Miller. “Sometimes they don’t have any choice and so I have compassion for that. I’m glad that they were brought here and not just left out on a dirt road. I’m glad we were able to recover them. I would have much preferred it happen during our working hours so we could help. But I understand that’s not always a reality for everyone.”
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The post cited resources like emergency boarding, low-cost vet care and SafePet, a program helping “individuals leaving abusive partners by providing temporary housing for their pets,” according to the WHS website.
Miller, who said she checked on Ripp Monday and he was neutered and given a full clinic check and “besides having a very sad look on his face, he’s going into adoption today.”
For the City of Winnipeg’s Animal Services Agency general manager Leland Gordon, the incident drives home that people need to consider the costs of having a pet before they consider adoption.
“We’re seeing people who have been living in long-term poverty and are going out and getting dogs,” said Gordon. “We’re empathetic with people who are struggling financially and don’t have a stable home to live in. But the result is that when people aren’t thinking long and hard about getting a dog. If you have a job and you’re living pay cheque to pay cheque, you probably shouldn’t get a dog.
“And who is suffering is the dogs and cats and the staff and volunteers in animal shelters and rescues across Manitoba are struggling. There are implications when people go out and get a pet and can’t properly care for that pet.”
Animal Services currently has 33 dogs in their facility on Logan Avenue where their “comfort capacity” is 20, said Gordon.
Before abandoning or surrendering their pets to an animal shelter or rescue, people should reach out to family, friends and even co-workers to find a home for that dog or cat, Gordon said.
glen.dawkins@kleinmedia.ca
X: @SunGlenDawkins
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