If you are ever planning on visiting your local branch of the SPCA, don鈥檛 do it if you are
A) unsure if you are ready for the responsibility of taking on an animal; and
B) feeling especially vulnerable on that particular day.
The reason I say this is because that combination can be nearly impossible to ignore when you actually step foot inside an SPCA facility, and that could result in making a decision that isn鈥檛 in the best interests of you or the animal.
This hard truth became clear on Saturday when I dropped by the Burnaby SPCA branch for an open house and the Locked-In for Love fundraiser it was hosting.
My friend is considering getting her first dog and has been looking at breeders online. Meanwhile, I鈥檝e been trying to talk her into adopting a shelter animal because it鈥檚 just the right thing to do.
The open house seemed a perfect chance to see what animals the SPCA has at this time, take some photos, and then that would make my case even stronger.
Except I didn鈥檛 account for my feelings on that day. I haven鈥檛 had a pet to call my own in several years and hadn鈥檛 been considering one.
And then I stepped inside one of the cat rooms and met Boomer.
Boomer is deaf and beautiful and emits mournful cries that reached right into my chest, wrapped its paws around my beating heart, and wouldn鈥檛 let go.
Hours after I left the shelter, I was sitting in a movie theatre trying to enjoy Deadpool 2 and Boomer鈥檚 aching meows were still ringing inside my head.
I sat in my car after the movie and went through a checklist of pros and cons to driving back to the shelter and adopting Boomer on the spot.
AND I DON鈥橳 EVEN LIKE CATS!
That鈥檚 what seeing animals in cages does to any person with a soul 鈥� although it should be noted that the Burnaby facility does its best to provide a good situation for its animals, such as introducing two- and three-bank kennels with sleeping areas separate from their litter boxes. But it鈥檚 a fact of life that there are too many animals and not enough people out there in the world to adopt them. Meanwhile, certain shady puppy and kitty mills continue pumping out these animals.
The situation is made worse in Metro 麻豆传媒映画because there are a lot of landlords and strata councils who erect roadblocks to pet ownership. For example, stratas that allow tiny dogs, but discriminate against larger-sized breeds.
At the Locked-In for Love fundraiser, I met Alicia Mulholland, who spent a few hours inside a cage with Koda, a seven-year-old Husky mix who she said 鈥渉as had a rough life, but is a real gentlemen to everyone.鈥�
She wants to have a dog, but it鈥檚 just not possible where she is living.
鈥淚 used to have a dog, but my landlord wouldn鈥檛 allow it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 the reason why so many animals don鈥檛 have homes.鈥�
There鈥檚 a lot of love out there for animals, but people need a place to live and it鈥檚 hard enough as it is to find a rental even when you don鈥檛 have a pet.
Mulholland works at the Body Shop in Lougheed Town Centre and she says her store partners with the local SPCA because it believes in helping animals. It鈥檚 also gathering names for petition S214 to ban animal testing for cosmetics.
Vanessa Dong agrees about the boost to adoption rates if more landlords and stratas allowed animals. She鈥檚 a 麻豆传媒映画tattoo artist who used her large Instagram following @nessaaa_ to raise several thousand dollars for the SPCA, by locking herself in with Chevy, an eight-month-old coonhound-redbone-retriever mix.
鈥淚 feel like people need to do more to ensure these animals have good homes,鈥� Dong said as Chevy dug some treats out of the rubber kong she was holding.
I also met Nicole Campbell, who was hanging out with Cooper, a beagle who has been in three homes in less than a year.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a little bit shy, but he warmed up to me,鈥� Campbell said.
You meet all of these animals and they all have backstories that make your heart break, even as they cheer you up with their good nature and plentiful kisses.
But it has to be the right decision. You have to be ready for everything involved with adopting an animal.
Which is why despite Boomer calling out to me, I knew in my heart that I was just not ready and it would have been a mistake.
Of course, making the right decision doesn鈥檛 necessarily silence the meows.
To make myself feel better, I鈥檓 making donations to the SPCA and other animal shelters. And I鈥檓 trying to spread the word to those out there thinking about getting a pet to make a shelter their first stop in the decision-making process.
听
Burnaby SPCA FAST FACTS
Burnaby branch helped nearly 800 animals in 2017.
Total animals cared for in 2017:
- Dogs/puppies: 328
- Cats: 242
- Kittens: 42
- Rabbits: 32
- Others: 122
Animals adopted in 2017: 555
Stray animals reunited with owners: 204
Complaints of neglect or cruelty from the Burnaby area investigated by the local branch: 429
