When Tammy Gaboury received a photo of a severely matted Shih Tzu, she wasn't sure what she was looking at.
"You couldn't tell her head from her tail," said Gaboury, animal care manager at the Niagara SPCA and Humane Society.
The senior dog, found by railroad tracks, was so matted she couldn't move. Her nails curled into her matted hair.
Shelter staff promptly named her Angel.
"Animals are so amazingly resilient … she experienced the worst and she's still so gentle and so sweet," she said.
"She's our shelter angel."
Angel was found in a rural area of the Niagara Region, her matted hair was so bad she couldn't walk. (Submitted by Tammy Gaboury)Gaboury said more dogs are being abandoned in rural areas of the Niagara region, with animal shelters now fuller than ever.
"The dog numbers are probably the most challenging that we've ever seen in shelter," she said.
Animal shelters and agencies in other parts of Canada have reported a similar increase in pet abandonments this year.
Rising costs of living, including pet care, may be to blame.
"Our pet food prices have gone up, our veterinarian care has gone up, and people are just having a hard time affording the very basics right now," she said.
Years of neglect led to Angel's current state: SPCAGaboury said it must have taken years of neglect for Angel's hair to get that way.
"The amount of suffering that she probably was feeling and pain is unimaginable," said Gaboury.
The groomer who helped cut Angel's hair, Vanessa De Prophetis, also known as content creator Girl with the Dogs, said in a video she spent two and a half hours to remove the hair.
Despite ongoing medical issues, Angel has received strong community support. Gaboury said they've turned over her case to the Provincial Animal Welfare Services for investigation.
For struggling pet owners, she urged reaching out to local resources.
"Even if we can't get you in right away, work with us," she said.
Another animal shelter in the region, the Humane Society of Greater Niagara (HSGN), said they've seen their highest-ever number of abandoned pets in 2024.
Since the start of the year, the HSGN has received 990 surrendered pets and 1,645 pets that were found as strays or abandoned, according to Cortnie Welychka, senior manager of operations at HSGN. She said the influx is likely due to monetary limitations.
"We also continue to see 'Pandemic Pets,' where owners can no longer meet the pets' long-term needs," said Welychka.
She said HSGN is addressing this crisis by educating the community and providing accessible programs that offer low-cost vet services and food bank access.
Abandoned pets also on the rise in Hamilton areaHamilton is also experiencing similar situations.
While walking on a very cold day at Gage Park, resident Lauren Lowe's dog, Dragon, suddenly became very interested in a particular bush.
"I looked in and saw this little black and white creature," Lowe, a high school teacher, told CBC Hamilton.
She found a guinea pig hiding under the tall grass, so she got to work and ended up taking it home with her in her hat. Her students named her Lavender Bloom.
She and her family looked for lost guinea pig posts on social media, to no avail.
Lauren Lowe's dog, Dragon, found a guinea pig in Gage Park in Hamilton and named her Lavender Bloom. (Submitted by Lauren Lowe)Lowe, a seasoned guinea pig owner, believes the pregnant guinea pig was dumped.
Her neighborhood Facebook group has seen more abandoned pets at Gage Park.
"We've definitely noticed an increase in animal abandonments in general. We have seen probably upwards of about two dozen abandonments just recently," said Karissa Kugler, communications manager at the Hamilton-Burlington SPCA, in an interview in late December.
While she couldn't provide any specific numbers, she said the amount of abandoned pets "keeps moving upwards," also citing cost of living as a factor.
"People are in crisis mode right now, right? They feel like there's nothing left to do and that they're out of options," said Kugler.
She said the shelter hopes to increase efforts with their Pet Health Outreach and our Pet Pantry programs to help pet owners with vet and food costs.