If you’re anything like me, you likely want to spend as much of your time as you can with your pets. After a long day at work or school, few feelings compare to that one gets when they finally come home to their quiet pet who won’t start small talk.&nbsp;Canadians actually are higher than the global average in pet ownership, with 61% of Canadians opening their home to furry friends. Interestingly, according to Gfk, more people in Canada own cats than dogs, at 35% and 33% respectively, or 8.5 million and 7.9 million respectively according to the Canadian Animal Health Institute. These numbers show one major trait of Canadian homes - they’re pet friendly.&nbsp;Whether you got your beloved animal from a breeder, adopted them from a shelter, or found them wandering the streets as a stray, our pets are a critical part of our families. Today, let’s talk about animal shelters specifically and the role they play in our communities.Many municipalities have their own animal services. Toronto Wild Life Centre is a wonderful charity that provides critically important services to the City since 1993. The Center is supported primarily through public donations with staff and volunteers working daily on wildlife rescue and rehabilitation. If you find an injured animal, they would take it in. I once rushed a poorly neighborhood squirrel hit by a car to their North York location and the level of (free!) care that squirrel received was fantastic. The Wildlife hospital onsite can perform many necessary and emergency diagnostics and procedures, including x-ray and IV on site. Wildlife hotline is also available, and operates like a triage system at a hospital—all callers leave a message, which are then returned in order of urgency. Whether you saw a fox get hit by a car on the highway, found a robin on your lawn and are unsure if it needs help, or are concerned about a family of raccoons taking up residence under your deck, the Wildlife hotline is here to help you.&nbsp;The City of Hamilton has the Hamilton Animal Services. On the City of Hamilton’s website, they list a number of resources for all things involving pets. They have a portal for those looking to adopt or foster a domestic animal that is held in the shelter. Hamilton Animal Services uses Petfinder, a website dedicated to pet listings. To adopt a pet on their site, you must fill out one of their applications for a specific pet you are interested in. The application includes thorough questioning, including characteristics your pet must have, whether this pet will be a gift &amp; whether the gift recipient has previously surrendered a pet, information about the home your pet will live in, specific pet topics you are interested in learning about from the Service’s Adoption Staff, and whether everyone in your house supports the decision to adopt a pet. If your application is approved, you will pay an adoption fee. The adoption fee is usually higher for dogs than for cats, and includes spay/neuter, microchip insertion, dog license/cat registration, appropriate vaccinations, testing for common diseases, and flea &amp; deworming treatment.&nbsp;Most municipal animal services also have a lost and found. Using the City of Hamilton again, their Animal Services has a Lost, Found, or Surrender page. If you have lost your pet, you can check into the Found Pets Listing to see which animals have been brought into the shelter. You can also visit the shelter in person with all the information about your pet and preferably also a photo. Once you have found your pet, they ask you to call them to confirm this. If you are travelling out of town and leave your pet with a sitter, you can email Animal Services with your sitter’s information in the event your animal goes missing in their care. The sad part is the Surrendering an Animal page. They say you can surrender your animals, dead or alive. They advise that you aren’t entitled to any information on what happens to your animal after you surrender and that there is no guarantee upon surrender that your animal will be adopted. They further advise that surrendering should be a last course of action &amp; that you should find other ways. You should also be aware that the animal services can choose to euthanize the pet and you will not be advised of this. In Hamilton, the fee for surrendering your animal can be as high as $218. In Toronto, the fees are at most $66.47. You may be best off by finding your own new home, after having done proper screening.Animal shelters are also an essential part of our communities. While I’m sure everyone may enjoy running into a cat on their way to school, we may feel different stumbling upon deceased or horribly injured animals. Shelters often make strays a priority and will even suspend euthanasias or surrender intakes to make more room for strays, especially during the holidays. Not only do shelters take strays in, but they also encourage responsible pet ownership that in turn makes our neighborhood a better place; by keeping your animals vaccinated and your cats indoors, the spread of diseases and the dangerous impacts on wildlife can be minimized. And finally, shelters can give us something to care about, since they are almost always looking for volunteers!&nbsp;Whether you are bored on weekends, looking for community service hours for school, or in general would love nothing more than giving back to your community through your love of animals, animal shelters are a great place to achieve these goals.&nbsp;

Shelters & Animal Activities in the GTA

Explore animal shelters and wildlife services in the GTA. From pet adoption to wildlife rescue, there's a lot you can do in your neighborhood! 

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