It’s always a bit of a struggle to walk through an animal shelter, past all those pairs of eyes watching you from behind bars, knowing you can’t take more than a couple home with you.
At Bide Awhile Animal Shelter in Nova Scotia, there’s no such struggle—the cages are all empty.
“It’s crazy to say but today we actually have no one available for adoption,” Sam Cole, communications and marketing coordinator for the shelter, told CTV News. “Everyone is either adopted and waiting for their veterinary health certificate.”
The shelter staff has been scratching their heads at a surge in demand for animal companions. With January still blowing cold, they’ve already adopted out 30 animals, and they’ve had trouble keeping any listed for adoption on their website longer than a day.
The longest stay this month was 21 days, but “the majority” are adopted the same day it’s announced they are up for adoption.
“Last year around this time, adult cats and senior cats or cats with medical complications were staying in the shelter a little bit longer than your average kitten that is quickly scooped up by a fun-loving family. But this year we are not even seeing that. Our adults, our seniors and our medical complications are getting adopted the same day they are posted. It has been nonstop since the doors opened this January,” says Cole.
The intense demand was seen last year as well, when over 12 months 500 pets were adopted, an average of 41.6 per month. An online waitlist for the first kitten available was 300-people long, so this year they’ve switched to a walk-in system.
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Bide Awhile strongly encourages prospective adopters to check their website before getting in their car to make sure the animal is still available.
When CTV spoke with the shelter, staff said that for three days in a row, by 9:00 a.m. opening, there’s a line out the door.
There aren’t many businesses that look good with barren shelves, but this shelter is certainly an exception.
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