Advocating for the animals... read more

The Growing Pet Affordability Crisis

In a recent Ottawa Humane Society community survey, Ottawa's residents identified the cost of caring for a pet as the most significant issue facing Ottawa's pets and their people.  

The results and report of the community survey are available on the OHS's website.

While the OHS has always seen animals surrendered for cost, use of its pet food bank — launched during the pandemic — is increasing, as are calls for help in general. Without urgent action, the OHS believes more pets in Ottawa will end up homeless, and families heartbroken.

The OHS offers a number of services to help families in need provide for their pets. These include a food bank, mobile spay/neuter service and wellness clinics. The services are in high-demand and the OHS is exploring how to expand and enhance these programs to serve more families.

The OHS survey also saw high support for any veterinary support the OHS might be able to provide to income-qualified owners.

Affordability was the most common concern voiced in the survey's feedback, but it is not the only challenge facing Ottawa's animals. The community also shared concerns about insufficient protections to guard animals from cruelty, the ongoing plight of homeless and feral cats, mistreatment and abandonment, increasing the awareness and accessibility of spay/neuter services, and enhancing care for animals sheltered at the OHS.

Read the full report and results of the OHS's community survey on the OHS's website.

Senior Animals like Dolores Need YOU

Your kindness today can bring love and attention to homeless, senior animals, ensuring a brighter future for them.

Dolores, a precious 13-year-old tabby cat, arrived at the OHS with no one to care for her. Thanks to compassionate people like you, Dolores is now safe and receiving the love and tender care she so desperately needs.

Support from caring people like you is so important. As you've seen, the cost of living is threatening Ottawa's pets and their people. For many, having animals as a family member has become more difficult. There are hundreds of precious animals, like Dolores, in the care of the OHS right now waiting for a second chance.

Animals spend their whole lives loving us. Senior animals, like Dolores, have that same love to give. Your gift today will ensure that homeless animals like Dolores receive the medical treatment, love and compassion they so desperately need.

Training: Worth Its Weight in Gold

Train your dog. It's one of the best tips for building a better relationship with your pet and setting both of you up for a happy and healthy future. Just this month, a new group of dogs and their people embarked on training classes at the OHS.

On the surface, the classes are all about building the bond between people and their dogs, but there's much more to the lessons than sit and stay. Training is key to keeping you and your pet safe, and building a pet-friendly community.

Earlier this year, the City of Ottawa reported that the total number of bylaw calls per year for complaints about dog aggression increased 17% from 2019 to 2022.

The cause of the increase is not certain, but theories include a greater demand for dog training than available supply, a lack of socialization for dogs during the public health crisis, behaviour challenges arising from people spending less time at home with their pets, and simply more dogs in the community. 

While the OHS has not seen an increase in the number of people citing behaviour challenges as the reason they need to give up their dog, more dogs are arriving at the shelter with significant behaviour issues, and more owners are calling the OHS desperate for help to manage their dog's behaviour. Between consultations, private training, seminars and the group training classes, the OHS offers many supports for families struggling with their pet's behaviour — but the demand continues to increase.

You can help keep more pets with their families by sharing the importance of training your pets and directing people in need to the OHS for resources.

Senior Pets — Some of the Best, Yet Overlooked Companions

November is Adopt a Senior Pet Month. Kittens and puppies are often in high demand and are quick to find their forever homes. Adult and senior animals can take a little longer to find their perfect match, and in some cases a pet might even wait several months to be adopted.

The benefits of adopting a kitten or a puppy are obvious — they are adorable and some adopters may believe they will build a stronger bond with an animal who has spent their entire life with them. But senior animals have many great benefits:

• A senior pet's needs, size and personality are not likely to change dramatically — taking some of the guess work out of finding your perfect match.
• Senior pets are usually less destructive than their younger counterparts and have more mellow personalities.
• A senior pet can make a great companion for a person who is older. Sharing your life with a pet has many great benefits and the calm presence of a senior pet may be especially beneficial for a person who is older.
• Older dogs and cats can learn new tricks. Senior pets may have an easier time with training as they may have already received some training and likely have a longer attention span.

Senior pets often come to the OHS from a home where they were loved and cared for, from an owner who simply is unable to provide for them. They deserve a second chance at a happy life.

If you're interested in adopting a pet, consider opening your heart and home to a senior animal who needs you the most.

Thank You for Supporting Ottawa's Animals!

Because of PAW donors like you, animals like Henderson receive the loving care they desperately deserve. Henderson, a one-year-old orange tabby, was in desperate need of medical attention after a car struck him and broke his jaw. 

Thanks to you, Henderson received the medical treatment needed and recovered comfortably in the care of a loving foster volunteer. Now he is living happily ever after with his new forever home.

Thank you for being a hero to thousands of homeless and vulnerable animals like Henderson!

The Standards Program Trustmark is a mark of Imagine Canada used under licence by the Ottawa Humane Society.

The Humane Canada Accreditation Program mark is a licenced mark of Humane Canada used under licence by the Ottawa Humane Society.