SAN JOSE, Calif. – The scene is always heartbreaking – a sobbing pet owner, cradling a beloved animal companion, comes into an animal shelter to surrender a pet. But it’s happening every day now at some shelters, where the number of surrendered dogs and cats has doubled. The numbers are even higher for rabbits.
This isn’t the long-anticipated, never materialized COVID bounce that predicted the record number of pandemic-era adoptions would fall apart once people returned to the office or resumed regular life. Most surrenders, says Oakland Animal Shelter director Ann Dunn, stem more from the rapidly rising cost of living, a pandemic-driven vet care crisis that has seen fewer vets and shorter hours, and a housing shortage that allows landlords to be more selective, preferring tenants without pets.
“Part of it is people not being able to afford vet care,” Dunn says. “The bigger issue is the lack of affordable housing. People are often unable to find housing or to find rentals that allow pets. Specifically in Oakland, a lot of what landlords call ‘pet friendly’ really isn’t. Many that allow pets, don’t allow large dogs or specific breeds.”
