Sally Johnston, director of community services at Calgary Humane Society (CHS), poses in CHS on Thursday, June 6. The dog, Scrunkle, was rescued from the streets and underwent eye surgery, but still loves to interact with people. (Photo by Jiaqi Su/The Press)
Animals wait in separate cubed cages at the Calgary Humane Society. Their name cards, detailing their personalities and the heart-breaking reasons they're there, hang on the outside. As you pass by, the sounds of cats meowing and dogs barking fill the air, hoping for a moment of connection.
“We are routinely over capacity,” said Sally Johnston, director of community services at Calgary Humane Society.
It took in 1,818 animals in 2023, with 155 surrenders due to a lack of pet-friendly housing.
Johnston added that the reasons usually are pet owners couldn't secure affordable pet-friendly rentals, landlords changed their policies or the owners had no home. The number of surrenders tends to spike during the colder months.
“The housing limitations are directly linked with pet relinquishment and surrender," said Johnston. "Unfortunately, it's a growing issue year over year."
People show their opinions on abandoning pets due to the housing crisis.
“People shouldn't take pets if they can't take responsibility for them,” said Tony Woo, a residential and commercial associate of Re/Max Canada.
Taskin Satter, a pet owner in Calgary, said she understands the challenges of finding affordable pet-friendly rentals.
“I don't blame them. It's very hard to find [affordable pet-friendly rentals],” she said.
The challenges Satter mentioned are reflected in the statistics. According to the RentFaster website, only 1,880 of the 4,542 available housing options in Calgary are pet-friendly. Only 99 pet-friendly housing options are under $1,500 and just 16 options are under $1,000.
“The waitlist has doubled in the last years. In 2022, we used to have approximately 250 applications a month. We are now 500 plus applications a month for people applying for social housing,” said George Habib, the vice president of Calgary Housing Company.
Sami Ka holding her cat, Garfield, in her apartment in Calgary on Saturday, June 8, 2024. They live in a small one-bedroom unit that costs around $1500, with an additional $25 pet fee per month. Ka struggles to find a cheaper place for them. (Photo by Jiaqi Su/The Press)
“It's very hard to find [a pet-friendly housing], like a room-sharing is really hard to find because they always say that no pets,” Sami Ka, a cat owner in Calgary, wants to move to a cheaper place with her cat.
Sayeeba Islam, another pet owner in Calgary, said besides the rent, she has to pay a one-time pet fee of $500 and the monthly cost of her cat is around $300.
“It doesn't matter how long you're living there but $500 together it was too much for me at that time,” said Islam. “I can’t live without my cats. I flew my cat from Toronto to here.”
Johnston shares her own experience. “My husband and I literally purchased a house, because we could not find pet-friendly accommodation for ourselves and our two large and very well-behaved dogs,” she said.
She said facing pet owners who don't want to surrender their pets is the most challenging part. She noted human-animal bond is vital, pet ownership actually can improve people's overall quality of life.
“They don't want to face that separation,” said Johnston. “Otherwise, we're going to see more and more people living on the street with their pets, we don't want people to have to make that decision.”
The Calgary Humane Society website provides a pet and renters program and offers animals free behavioural support.
“In the event that they might be facing any sort of eviction as a result of their animal, they can just reach out to us,” said Johnston.
Similar help also can be found from the Calgary Housing Company.
“We do partner with the SPCA (The Alberta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), as well as a training that's available for residents if they do have dogs,” said Allison Leonhardt, communications advisor of Calgary Housing Company.
Leonhardt adds that they also advertise to their resident newsletter about things like pet food banks and different resources with pets to support.
“We recognize the positive impacts that pets have sometimes secret spaces to allow pets in any of our managed properties and units,” said Habib.
Calgary Housing Company offers several housing options, such as community housing, affordable housing, near market and rent assistance housing.
“More than 90 per cent of our properties are pet-friendly,” said Habib.
He encourages people to look for more information on their website to better support them.
“There is no difference between the type of papers you have, whether it's from national or international so they're all the same, all the same treatment,” he said.
Sally Johnston, director of community services at Calgary Humane Society (CHS), poses in the cat shelter of CHS on Thursday, June 6. As she gently pets the cat, named Mikey, Johnston expresses the deep comfort and connection she feels when interacting with these animals. (Photo by Jiaqi Su/The Press)
“We want them to have access to pet-friendly living accommodation and let us help and support with that to make sure everyone has their needs met.”— Sally Johnston