RIDDLE the terrier needs a home for the Holidays, but after almost two months in the District of North Vancouver's animal shelter, the dog's keepers worry it may be out of luck.
Riddle, a roughly 18-month-old border terrier cross, was dropped at the Lynnmour facility at the beginning of November after someone found it wandering in the Maplewood Flats area. While the district sees numerous strays pass through the shelter, most are reclaimed quickly by their owners. Riddle, however, appears to be an exception.
"We can't figure out why someone hasn't snatched her up," said Kim Marosevich, manager of the district's animal welfare services. "Riddle is a very balanced dog: She's affectionate when you want her to be affectionate; she's active when you want her to be active; she wants to interact with other dogs."
Riddle is one of the unlucky few animals that have found themselves without a family at the end of a year that saw an exceptionally high adoption rates at North Shore shelters.
In West Vancouver, the SPCA experienced a surge of lost and abandoned animals, with 764 arriving on its doorstep so far this year - a 44 per cent increase over the same period in 2010. But that influx has been matched by a rush of adoptions, according to the organization; so far, 574 of the orphaned pets have found homes. As of Tuesday, just 28 remained at the West Vancouver facility: eight dogs, 19 cats - and one pigeon.
It's comparatively few animals for a shelter that can hold as many as 70, said branch manager Dragana Hajdukovic.
"We've never had a lower number of animals," she said. "We had nine adoptions this weekend."
Hajdukovic wasn't sure what was behind the unusually high number of arrivals - a figure which includes animals transferred from lowertraffic interior facilities - but she said she's confident the surge of adoptions is due at least in part to the B.C. SPCA's ongoing Home for the Holidays campaign, which aims to draw the attention of prospective owners.
Now the shelter is focused on finding homes for the unfortunate stragglers. Hajdukovic pointed to Golden, an extremely friendly threeyear-old Labrador cross that was delivered to the shelter when its Burnaby family downsized to a smaller home. Despite it being a great candidate for the right household, she said, Golden has been stuck at the West Vancouver facility for 216 days.
"That's a very long time for a dog," said Hajdukovic.
She would very much like to see the animal taken in permanently by a family, she said.
At the North Vancouver shelter, the unadopted animals have in a sense been a victim of the organization's success, said the district's Marosevich.
Because the vast majority of the animals that come through are lost pets that are quickly claimed by owners, there are extremely few animals at the facility at any given time that are available for adoption.
Aside from Riddle the terrier, the North Vancouver shelter had on hand just two other cats on Tuesday. Consequently, people tend not to think to go there when they're in the market for a pet, said Marosevich.
Riddle is a small, gentle, active, sociable dog that would be best suited to a home with another canine, she said.
Anyone looking for more information should contact the District of North Vancouver animal shelter at 604-990-3711.
Information about the West Vancouver SPCA can be found at spca.bc.ca.
