Good Morning, Buffalo: As more owners abandon their pets, shelters face a dog 'crisis' (2024)

April 22, 2024

As more owners abandon their pets, shelters face a dog 'crisis'

The SPCA Serving Erie County stopped accepting new dogs a month ago as the agency copes with what officials describe as a canine “crisis.”

SPCA leaders say dog surrenders have soared while dog adoptions have cratered in recent months, leading to the imbalance.

The SPCA is seeing more large-size dogs, dogs from less popular breeds, dogs with behavioral issues and dogs that were maltreated by their owners. The dogs require more staff time and more money to care for, officials said, and it’s harder to find new homes for them. Agencies that work with dogs point to the soaring cost of caring for pets, the growing number of evictions and second thoughts from people who adopted dogs at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic as among the reasons dog surrenders are rising.

–Stephen T. Watson and Debadrita Sur

WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT

School districts sued over child sex abuse also battling in court with insurers:A Hamburg lawsuit is among dozens across the state in which insurers are at odds with school districts and nonprofit organizations over whether they are obligated to defend against and pay damages in Child Victims Act cases.Read more

Poloncarz says establishing Erie County Public Defender's Office could save millions of dollars:At Wednesday's State of the County address, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz will announce he's laying the groundwork for a new Public Defender's Office.Read more

Board of Regents advises shorter renewals for two Buffalo charter schools:Enterprise and Westminster charter schools' excitement after meeting academic goals set forth in a legal settlement has been dampened after the state Board of Regents sent back the Buffalo School Board's recommendations for full renewal.Read more

Buffalo ranks among the best cannabis cities:A newsurveyby cannabis marketing company Leafly has ranked the Queen City No. 4 on its list of "The Best Weed Cities in the United States," beating out such places as Baltimore, Seattle and all of California.Read more

Updated Shoshone Park in Buffalo will honor Don Morris, longtime president, coach of youth baseball:The Common Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday to name the baseball diamonds “Don Morris Fields at Shoshone Park” in honor of Donald E. Morris. Morris, whofounded Shoshone baseball in 1957 served as president of the Hertel North Park Youth Baseball League for more than three decades, died in December at age 81.Read more

Terry Anderson, ex-Batavia resident and AP reporter held captive for years, dies at 76:Anderson became one of America's longest-held hostages when he was kidnapped by Islamic militants in war-torn Lebanon in 1985 and held for more than six years.Read more

WEATHER

Return of the sun:Mainly sunny skies with a high around 50 degrees.Read more

BUFFALO NEXT

What's happening this week in Buffalo Niagara business?:A quick read of news from the past week and a look ahead at what's coming next.Read more

OPINION

The Editorial Board: New regulations on PFAS are necessary to protect our water and health: Water authorities worry that the new regulations could cause rate increases, but PFAS have always had a high price tag. A 2022 study found the costs of treating diseases related to PFAS exposure in the U.S. could be as much as $62.6 billion.Read more

BILLS

Mark Gaughan: Mortgage the future in the 2024 NFL draft? Brandon Beane shouldn't do it:Gaughan says the Bills don't need to take a wild gamble in this year's draft.Read more

Bills GM Brandon Beane's first round trade-up scorecard:A look at how Bills GM Brandon Beane compares to other executives in first-round draft trade-ups.Read more

BANDITS

Buffalo Bandits crush Las Vegas Desert Dogs, clinch home playoff game:The Buffalo Bandits enjoyed a 14-5 victory over the Las Vegas Desert Dogs on Saturday night in Las Vegas.The win, coupled with Georgia's loss to Rochester on Friday, elevated the Bandits (11-7) to the No. 4 seed in the National Lacrosse League playoffs and clinched a single-game elimination quarterfinal home game against Georgia (10-8). The date and time have yet to be announced. Read more

PHOTOS

#EveryDayAPhoto:Check out our photo series each morning to see our favoriteimage of the day.

View more photo gallerieshere.

Personalize your news: The Buffalo News app allows users to customize their experience. Your favorite topics can be selected and placed at the top of the app so that you can see them first. Download the app at the Apple store or the Google Play store.