‘Favourite problem’: Adoptions at Dartmouth animal shelter skyrocket
Posted Feb 12, 2026 01:43:54 PM.
Last Updated Feb 12, 2026 01:43:59 PM.
Usually, animal shelters face issues with not having enough people to adopt pets, but for one organization in Dartmouth, it’s the opposite.
“It is probably our favourite problem to have,” Sam Cole, communications and marketing director at Bide Awhile Animal Shelter, said.
She told The Todd Veinotte Show that the large uptick in people staying at their house or working from home is a factor.
“Spending that time at home, having a loving companion with you, nothing makes it more attractive,” Cole said. “I think there’s a huge demand for animals to be part of homes now.”
According to her, the shelter can post an animal, and in a few hours, it is adopted. After going through a veterinary process, animals are posted and quickly picked up throughout the week. The quick turnaround is a switch from the struggles shelters had when the pandemic restrictions eased, and people went back to the office full-time.
But now, things have changed.
“Our rate of return for animals coming back to the shelter, you might think, would be higher with so many adoptions, but it’s actually not,” Cole said.
“We tend to see adopters keeping their pets for life.”
It doesn’t mean there aren’t surrenders coming to the shelter, but the intake is quickly given a new home. Despite barriers to adopting a pet, Cole said that she sees people prioritizing the companionship they can get from animals.
“Especially in a world now where there is a rising cost of living, you’re out doing less in public, spending more time at home, you want that companion to be there with you,” she said.
Cole explained that it’s not just Bide Awhile, noting the huge increase in adoptions, shelters across the province are seeing the same demand.
“It really has become like an Olympic sport,” she said. “Our best recommendation for us is to keep an eye on our website for when we’re posting new companions.”
