{"id":146530,"date":"2026-07-28T11:27:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T11:27:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/146530\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T11:27:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T11:27:56","slug":"despite-increased-capacity-montreal-animal-shelters-struggling-with-surge-of-abandoned-pets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/146530\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite increased capacity, Montreal animal shelters struggling with surge of abandoned pets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even after a new shelter opened this year in Montreal, local animal rescues say they are still struggling to keep up with the influx of abandoned pets arriving at their doors.<\/p>\n

Montreal SPCA director Sylvie Bourbonni\u00e8re says thousands of animals continue to flow into shelters, suggesting that economic pressures and housing challenges are pushing more owners to give up their pets.<\/p>\n

Although the new Proanima shelter<\/a> opened on Pie-IX Blvd., the SPCA has barely seen a drop in its intake.<\/p>\n

From Jan. 1 to July 15,\u00a02025, the SPCA took in\u00a07,900 animals.\u00a0Over the same period\u00a0this year, there were\u00a06,740.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u00a0imagined that we would see a major difference, because now we have two service providers. It should\u00a0be\u00a0at least 40 or 50 per cent less, but\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0not.\u00a0That slight difference, 1,000 animals less,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0not enough,\u201d\u00a0Bourbonni\u00e8re\u00a0said in an interview,\u00a0noting that it signals\u00a0there has been an\u00a0increase\u00a0in\u00a0pet abandonment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Winnie,Winnie, a five-year-old female who was abandoned, has a nose-to-nose conversation with Astrid Roussel at the Proanima shelter in Montreal. Tim Snow \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

The weeks surrounding the traditional July 1 moving day in Montreal is a busy time for shelters,\u00a0Bourbonni\u00e8re said, since many landlords don\u2019t permit\u00a0pets.\u00a0The\u00a0SPCA helped fight a case in front of the Quebec housing tribunal, which\u00a0ruled in March that prohibiting animals on a lease is contrary to Quebec\u2019s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve\u00a0seen a significant increase around July 1, a little before and a little after,\u201d\u00a0Bourbonni\u00e8re\u00a0said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe difficulty of finding housing means that people are unfortunately forced to choose between finding an apartment or continuing to live with their pet. In about 85 per cent of apartments, landlords impose significant restrictions or outright prohibit living with a pet.\u00a0We know that in Quebec, many people live with pets. It\u00a0remains\u00a0difficult, mathematically speaking, for someone with a pet to find housing when availability is so limited,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Close-upThere are many rabbits who are under the care of Proanima. Tim Snow \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

Another\u00a0main\u00a0contributor\u00a0to pet abandonment\u00a0is the difficult economy, according to\u00a0Proanima\u00a0executive director\u00a0Anny Kirouac.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have to surrender (pets)\u00a0or have to\u00a0find solutions because they\u2019re going through difficult personal times themselves,\u201d Kirouac said in an interview.\u00a0Bourbonni\u00e8re added that people sometimes underestimate the costs associated with\u00a0caring\u00a0for a pet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since summer began,\u00a0Proanima\u00a0has seen its intake jump from an average of 25 animals per day up to 50, Kirouac said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cats are the No. 1 species\u00a0that\u00a0shelters\u00a0receive\u00a0across the province.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s around 75 to 80\u00a0per cent\u00a0at any time of the year,\u201d Kirouac said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Close-upCats represent about 75 to 80 per cent of the animals at shelters across Quebec. Tim Snow \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

For pet owners who can no longer take care of their animals, Kirouac and Bourbonni\u00e8re urge them to bring the pets to a shelter directly, rather than abandoning them in an apartment or tying them to a street pole.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u00a0took in\u00a0two beautiful little dogs, two little\u00a0Labradors\u00a0that were found alone in an abandoned apartment.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0hot out, and they\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0always have water. In any case,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a responsibility,\u201d\u00a0Bourbonni\u00e8re\u00a0said.\u00a0\u201cWhen someone abandons an animal like that, we\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know anything.\u00a0We don\u2019t know its health\u00a0status,\u00a0we don\u2019t know its history.\u00a0We\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know if\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0an animal that enjoys living with a family or with children \u2014 we\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kirouac explained that there\u00a0is\u00a0also a thrift store and a food bank at\u00a0Proanima, for those who need pet food and supplies at a lower price.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they don\u2019t call us, they don\u2019t contact us, they don\u2019t reach out, then we can\u2019t help them,\u201d Kirouac added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are ashamed of coming into\u00a0a shelter\u00a0and saying, \u2018I\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0do it.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0too much for me. I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0think I have a\u00a0solution.\u2019\u00a0But sometimes there is a solution.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ADenny Cubero leaves the Proanima shelter on Pie-IX Blvd. with her new friend Blanco on Monday, July 27, 2026. Tim Snow \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Profile<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tLeora Schertzer is a reporter at the Montreal Gazette who thrives on the chase. Whether it\u2019s producing a documentary about sewage or investigating a Nazi gold scandal, it\u2019s the novelty and adrenaline that keep her in this challenging industry. Send her tips at lschertzer@postmedia.com.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tlschertzer@postmedia.com
\n\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Even after a new shelter opened this year in Montreal, local animal rescues say they are still struggling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146531,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4133,50],"class_list":["post-146530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal","tag-housing","tag-montreal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146530\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}