Rising costs leave families struggling to care for their animals 

Ontario SPCA Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Animal Centre has 15 cats left on doorstep 

Cornwall, ON – The Ontario SPCA Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Animal Centre is seeing first-hand the impact that economic challenges are having on families and their pets. With the rising cost of living, more people are finding it difficult to afford basic pet care, and animal centres across the province are feeling the effects. 

Earlier today, 15 cats and kittens were brought into care at the Cornwall animal centre after being left outside the building overnight. While all the animals are now safe, this situation underscores the challenges many people face when they simply don’t know where to turn for help. 

“The cost of food, housing and veterinary care continues to rise, and we understand that families are struggling,” says Candice Gordon, Manager, Ontario SPCA Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Animal Centre. “We want people to know they’re not alone. The Ontario SPCA is here to help – and we encourage anyone who needs support to reach out before they feel like they’ve run out of options.” 

To help keep animals with the families who love them, the Ontario SPCA offers a variety of community support services, including distributing pet food to local food banks to keep furry bellies full, and hosting mobile spay/neuter and wellness clinics to make basic veterinary care more accessible and reduce pet overpopulation.  

To meet the growing needs of the community, the Ontario SPCA recently broke ground on a new Cornwall & Region Animal Centre and Veterinary Clinic, which will open in 2027. The new 8,000-square-foot facility will include an in-house, charity-based spay/neuter and basic care clinic. The clinic will provide affordable spay/neuter surgeries and essential veterinary care, helping to reduce pet overpopulation and making preventive care more accessible for local families. Once operational, it will have the capacity to perform thousands of spay/neuter procedures annually – a key step in addressing one of the region’s most pressing animal welfare challenges. 

“This new facility is an investment in our community’s future,” says Gordon. “By improving access to affordable care, we can help keep pets in their homes, prevent unplanned litters, and reduce the number of animals entering shelters.” 

The Ontario SPCA is calling on the community for support as it continues to care for animals in need, including these two adult cats and 13 kittens. To donate or learn more, visit ontariospca.ca/sdg