by: jane stevenson
will the “great doggy dump” happen in ontario?
the term was coined by the
new york post
, which — along with
bloomberg qucktale
— reported some animal shelters in the u.s. and the u.k. say they’re seeing people who adopted pups at the beginning of the pandemic returning them as lockdown restrictions are eased.
“people can be very selfish,” penny smith-berk, the owner of the rescue right animal shelter in bedford, n.y., told the
post.
“you can impulsively buy a pair of shoes and never wear it again, but there are consequences for a dog — it’s excruciatingly sad.”
ospca spokesperson melissa kosowan said with ontario still in the grips of a third wave of the pandemic and an extension of the stay-at-home order from may 20 to june 2, it’s hard to know what will happen here.
“as ontario is in a different stage of the pandemic than the united states, i think it’s too early to predict how the return to a more normal way of life will impact our pets,” kosowan said in a statement. “what i can tell you is that we are seeing an increased interest in adopting and our adoption process is designed to help ensure that the matches that we are making are for life.”
hannah sotropa, a spokesperson with the toronto humane society, said her organization will be ready if there is a flurry of returns when covid restrictions are removed.