A bright-eyed canine found wandering a Toronto Park last week has captured the hearts of people across the Greater Toronto Area.
According to a social media post from the Toronto Humane Society, Max was found on April 3 in the Primrose Avenue Parkette area, near Davenport Road and Lansdowne Avenue.
Attached to him was a note from his owner. It read, “Will be 4 in June. Very Smart…Good with kids.”
Below that was the heartbreaking explanation for why Max was on his own. His owner explained that they had lost their job, their home, and couldn’t afford to care for him.
The final sentence of the note read: “He’s a good boy.”
On Monday, the Toronto Humane Society revealed that it had managed to locate his owner.
However, Max’s story is symptomatic of a larger issue, according to the non-profit. Families across the GTA have had to contend with rising food and fuel costs. The pain of price increases is also being sharply felt by pet owners.
Community Day was launched last fall to help those facing a range of challenges, from financial to personal. It happens on a monthly basis, providing pet parents an opportunity to access food, crates, harnesses, toys and other items.
“Everything that you see here today are donated goods, so it really is that full-circle event where we receive generous donations and then we’re able to give them back to our community,” said Dillon Dodson, senior manager of social work with the organization.
Gerard Pashko was among those outside Toronto Humane Society headquarters on Monday.
“They mean a lot to me. They’re like family,” he said. “It’s very important…with times being the way they are right now, and money’s hard.”
In addition to Community Day events, the organization also offers an Urgent Care Program.
Its goal is to help preserve the human-animal bond in times of financial turmoil, sudden illness or instability at home.
Individuals and families who have fallen on hard times can enroll their pets temporarily in the community-based fostering program. Once they are able to, owners can be reunited with their animals.
In the end, the Toronto Humane Society tells Global News that while heartbroken, Max’s family is unable to keep him.
They have now started the process of getting him adopted, hoping to find this good boy a good home.