As fundraising efforts continue for the development of a new animal shelter, the Humane Society of London and Middlesex (HSLM) is reporting maximum capacity levels and an increasing number of service requests.
“To put it in simple terms, the shelter is always full,” said Steve Ryall executive director of HSLM. “I would say that the shelter has been at max capacity now for a good year or two.”
Ryall said that they have seen a slight decrease on the waitlist for cats over the past six months, which he said indicates some stability. However, “canines continue to have a moderate waitlist as well as small animals.”
“I think everybody thinks of us as cats and dogs, but we also have bunnies, hamsters, rats and other small animals in our care,” he said. “With those waitlists, it’s a daunting task for our staff to look at and deal with and I don’t see that lowering any time soon as people adjust to the new costs of life.”
He noted that there’s an array of reasons that can be attributed to the increase in demand for sheltering services, one of which is financial challenges.
“Community members are finding it difficult to keep their animals because they’re not able to afford the care they require, maybe through the vet, or even just purchasing food,” Ryall said. “We have adopted the No Empty Bowls program here earlier on in the winter, and we are serving approximately 400 to 600 animals in their homes per month right now, not including those within the shelter.”
Highlighting the significant increase in animal surrenders seen at shelters across the province since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ryall noted that other humane societies like the Humane Society of Kitchener Waterloo and Stratford Perth (HSKWSP) are hosting adoption pop-up shops in helping to address rising capacity levels.
While no local pop-up shop plans have been set for HSLM, Ryall said that they are in the midst of the planning stages for the development of a new larger shelter.
After approximately 124 years at their Clarke Road location, the organization announced last May that they would be upgrading to a facility on 10 acres of land in the city’s east end.
The new site at 1414 Dundas St. will be set to house up to 400 animals at a time, up from approximately 175 at the current location.
After first breaking ground last year at their new location, Ryall said that their biggest need in the construction process is funding.
“We’re sitting at about 85 per cent of our goal to start building, so we’re getting closer to making our new home in reality,” he said.
Ryall added that the new facility will “not only will increase the shelter capacity, but our new home will also provide some much-needed programs and community services to provide wraparound humane services for both animals in our shelter, and also animals who are in their homes in the community.”
“We’ll be able to increase programs such as humane education for all ages with things like kids camps and those types of things,” he said. “It will really allow us to provide opportunities and experiences for our community members, which will improve animal welfare here in our community overall.”
Overall, Ryall said that the project will cost a total of $21 million, $2 million of which still needs to be raised.
Those interested in supporting the project can find more information on the HLSM website.
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