Laura Becquet

By Dan Laxer
The Suburban

The SPCA Montreal held its second of two No-Fee Adoption days on Thanksgiving Monday. It was the last one of the year. It has been doing this twice a year since 2022 – one usually just after moving season. Issues around moving, like higher costs or housing that comes with a no pet clause, lead to an increase in the number of abandoned pets, says spokesperson Laura Becquet. The no-fee event is held in the hopes of rehousing abandoned animals. On average, adopting a pet could cost up to $550, depending on the animal. The cost covers sterilization (spaying or neutering), first set of vaccines, including rabies vaccine and deworming treatment. “For animals who live better with a friend,” says Becquet, “the SPCA will waive the adoption fee for the second animal.”

Laurence Massé, Executive Director of the Montreal SPCA, referred to pet abandonment as a crisis. “More and more animals are being entrusted to us and the reasons are very often linked to inflation,” Becquet explained in an email to The Suburban. “People can no longer afford to pay veterinary bills, food is increasingly expensive and it’s hard to find a place to live with a companion animal.”

The SPCA takes pet adoption seriously, making sure an animal goes to the right family. That is to say, a family that has the means to care for a pet. According to the Association des médecins vétérinaires du Québec (AMVQ), the average annual cost of caring for a cat is $2,400. It’s more expensive to own a dog, with costs ranging from $2,700 to $3,400. The SPCA recommends families who are thinking of taking on a pet first budget for those costs.

There is also a procedure for an animal adoption with adoption counsellors interviewing families to make sure they meet the requirements of the animal they wish to adopt. They might also suggest a different animal, one better suited to a family’s lifestyle. They also caution families to not make promises to children, as there is no guarantee that they will leave with a pet.

Massé also reassured potential adopting families that they are not stuck with a pet that turns out to be not right for them. “If a family realizes, after adopting an animal and having followed our advice, that the animal is not a good fit for their new home, we welcome him or her back and we talk with the family to try to find a better match for them and for the animal.”

This year, SPCA Montreal took in 6,284 animals. That’s down from 12,921 the previous year. In 2023 nearly 5,000 animals “found new families,” said Becquet, that’s a 14% increase from 2022. n