The Winnipeg Humane Society had 500 animals come into care last month, 150 of them surrendered by owners who couldn’t afford their medical treatments.

“We are seeing more medical cases, or animals being surrendered for medical care, because the cost of veterinary care is very high right now,” says communications director Carly Peters.

“It would be the number one reason why people are surrendering their animals to us currently.”

With the cost of living already high, Peters says, a large, unexpected vet bill can be a disaster.

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Another challenge is finding pet-friendly housing.

“Our intake team notices on the first of the month, we get an increase in calls about people wanting to surrender their animals,” says Peters.

Katie Powell, president of Save a Dog Network, sees the same trend.

“A couple days ago there was a lady, she was denied her place, didn’t have a place for her dog to go, and drove around all day looking for somewhere to take the dog.”

Powell mainly works in northern communities where there’s no access to vet care unless people pay for flights to a larger city. She says it’s a heartbreaking decision to give up an animal you can’t afford to treat.

“They watch their animals suffer without veterinary care. Small problems turn into big problems and dogs end up dying simply because there’s no veterinary care in these areas,” says Powell.

“So these owners have to make a difficult decision.”

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