Hundreds of people in Whitby and Pickering get rid of pets as lockdowns end

Durham | Oshawa | Pickering | Whitby | Community |

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Published July 15, 2022 at 4:38 pm

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Hermes Rivera photo / Unsplash

The number of people looking get rid of their pets has soared in Whitby in recent months.

As lockdowns end and people return to work, there are more pets looking for homes.

Animal Services in Whitby say they are getting up to 30 calls a week lately.

“We have seen the number of calls from residents who wish to surrender their pet to Whitby Animal Services increase significantly over the past two years, up from approximately three calls per week, to about six calls per day currently,” says Kate Novia, Whitby’s supervisor of by-law and Animal Services.

Novia says there several reasons why people surrender a pet but recently it seems time is a factor.

“Most of these residents have shared that they unfortunately don’t have the time to care for their animal anymore,” she said.

Whitby Animal Services is seeing many cats surrendered along with an increase in dogs coming to the shelter.

“Our centre provides care and shelter for these animals until we can help find them their forever home.

There are also many adoptable pets in Pickering.

This week is National Adoption Week and Pickering Animal Services (PAS) has partnered PetSmart to bring adoptable pets to the store at 1899 Brock Rd. from July 11 to 17.

“We plan to have plenty of cats and kittens available for adoption at the store all week,” said Lindsey Narraway, supervisor, Pickering Animal Services.

Attendees will have the opportunity to spend time with the animals to make connections, learn more about them, and explore the types of products they would need as potential pet owners.

“As we are now in the midst of kitten season, finding homes for the many kittens and cats in shelters becomes especially important,” said Andrew Fraser, Adoption Grants Manager, PetSmart Charities of Canada.

Visit  to view the animals currently available for adoption or visit PetSmartCharities.ca to learn more about this initiative.

Those looking for a furry friend can visit whitby.ca/PetAdoption or pickering.ca/petadoption for Pickering, and https://www.oshawa.ca/residents/adoption.asp for Oshawa.

Humane Society of Durham Region, based in Whitby, also many pets for adoption.

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