Number of pet adoptions increase at Sault humane society

Sault Ste. Marie -

Cats, dogs and other critters at the Sault Ste. Marie Humane Society have a little more room after an active month of adoptions. Staff at the animal shelter say it's been a challenging year with repeated shutdowns tied to the pandemic.

It was only last month that the Humane Society was caring for more than 100 cats, around 40 dogs and a number of smaller animals. However, it's a little less cramped now after a spike in adoptions in the month of December.

"We've had 59 cat adoptions this month and eight dog adoptions," said Lauren Smith, animal care and control agent for the Society.

"Instead of bursting at the seams over-capacity, we're sitting at just under capacity right now. Which is a nice place to be after the last six months."

With the spike in adoptions happening over the holidays, Smith said they have taken steps to ensure animals were not adopted as gifts.

"We screen heavily for Christmas presents," said Smith. "We make sure all the families in the house are aware -- there's no surprise Christmas presents. We don't believe in that."

She said COVID-19 protocols have made the adoptions process a little longer, but people have been understanding for the most part.

"We just need the application, (it) needs to be approved ahead of time, and then we invite you in to meet the animals," Smith said.

"We do want you to pick the right member of your family and it just takes a little more work than it did before. But, at the end of the day, we're seeing positive adoption results as so far, there's almost no returns."

Along with the jump in cat and dog adoptions, the shelter's critter population has gone down.

"We're down to just a couple of critters in-house -- and a duck for some reason," said Smith. "It got lost somehow and we're not quite sure what we're going to do with the duck.

Due to rising COVID-19 case numbers, the Society is open by appointment only for the time being.