Three young dogs that nobody in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, wants are on Vancouver Island today, waiting for someone to love them.
“We have, over the last few months, had an influx of dogs in Prince Albert,” said Debbie Lehner, manager of the Prince Albert SPCA. “We partner with a lot of outside rescue agencies.”
Many dogs seeking homes get moved to rescue groups in Regina or Saskatoon, but this is the farthest the shelter has shipped dogs, said Lehner.
The three dogs, ages two to four months, flew into Victoria on Wednesday morning courtesy of WestJet, and are in the care of Vancouver Island Dogs Rescue Society.
One is being fostered in Victoria, while two are in Campbell River.
No one knows why Prince Albert has so many strays right now, said Lehner. “We do expect to be more full in the months of January to March, but this has really been more out of the norm.”
The dogs are “very, very nice, but they’re living in a shelter environment,” she added.
With the move, the dogs will live in foster homes until permanent homes can be found, said Lehner.
Many of the dogs that are among the hardest to place are black in colour. It’s such a problem among shelters that the phenomenon has been named “black dog syndrome.”
People will walk by black dogs and cats to pets of other colours, Lehner said.
“They’re already the last ones to get adopted.”
Fortunately, black dogs and cats are easier to place on Vancouver Island, said Cecily Shaw of Vancouver Island Dogs Rescue Society. “People don’t seem to be as picky here,” Shaw said from Nanaimo.
The dogs were greeted by Shaw and volunteers at Victoria International Airport Wednesday morning.
“They’re sweethearts, absolutely sweethearts,” Shaw said.
The dogs’ information will be posted online at islanddogsrescue.com, petfinder.com and on Facebook.
“We have a very, very active Facebook page,” said Shaw.
The need for new homes for dogs is huge, she said. Many people breed dogs in their backyards and then turn to online advertising to sell them.
Some animals get dumped after a divorce or the birth of babies.
Other people like cute puppies but can’t handle the demands of training a grown animal.
The Island organization has been a registered non-profit for a year, during which about 50 dogs have been placed in new homes.
