Local rescue group seeing record number of dog surrenders

A woman who operates a local dog rescue organization says her group is overwhelmed with the amount of canines being surrendered to her group. David Zura is finding out if there is a link to a lack of pet-friendly housing in Metro Vancouver?

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A local dog rescue group is saying more Vancouverites have been forced to give up their pets because of rental rules.

Kelly Austin works with PB and Chi Dog Rescue and Adoption. She says her group has been getting at least one owner surrender every day for the past month.

“There’s something about the last month, I don’t know what’s happening but we’re literally getting an owner surrender a day,” she says.

RELATED: Renters are hiding pets from landlords because they can’t find pet-friendly homes

“I have never seen it this bad. I started the rescue in 2012. A large portion of it is people having issues finding homes.”

The BC SPCA says about 20 per cent of surrenders across the province are because of housing issues. That adds up to around 1,700 animals per year. Current housing rules leave it up to the building owner to determine whether or not their units allow pets.

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