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Ontario animal shelter ‘bursting at the seams,’ taking care of pets in hallways
The Georgian Triangle Humane Society reports that pet surrenders have increased by 144 per cent over the last couple of years, with the high cost of living the main reason people are struggling to take care of their furry friends.
The society’s executive director, Karen Marsh, says the demand for its services has been overwhelming, coming from all different angles.
Marsh told Global News the Collingwood, Ont., shelter has a waiting list for people needing to surrender their pets and that the demand for its veterinary care services, pet food and basics is also pretty high.
“People are experiencing dire challenges around the cost of veterinary care, the cost of housing, trying to find housing that accepts pets that are pet-friendly for them. We are experiencing people who are in a temporary crisis,” she said.
The humane society was built to house 500 animals a year but has outgrown the space, currently servicing 4,000 animals a year.
“We are bursting at the seams. We have dogs and cats who are recovering in the hallways after their spay and neuter surgeries. We have all kinds of youth programs that we offer, and they’re very popular, but we don’t have the space to house those kids to come in and experience the beauty of the human-animal bond,” Marsh said.
Pets are recovering in hallways after surgery at the Georgian Triangle Humane Society due to a lack of space.
Supplied by Georgian Triangle Humane Society
Unlike most shelters, where people need to surrender their pets permanently, the Georgian Triangle offers people the opportunity to temporarily surrender their animals for three months.
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The shelter also offers clients who can’t afford pet food access to its pet food bank to ensure they can feed their pets and keep them in their homes.
Marsh said this is to help in situations where someone lands on hard times financially or is having medical issues and can’t care for their pet.
“We believe … that everyone deserves a pet. We don’t believe that because you are experiencing perhaps temporary challenges in your life, that you necessarily have to surrender your pet,” she said.
She says the bond between people and their pets is strange and important, not only for the animals but also for their owners.
The issue is the current cost of living, which is causing more people to struggle.
“We are at really a crisis in terms of our capacity and we’re trying everything that we can do (to) think outside the box,” she said.
To cope, many shelter staff take animals to their own homes temporarily until space becomes available.
“Sometimes the emergency is so dire that we just take the animal. We don’t have anywhere to put that animal at that given moment, but we find a solution,” Marsh said.
Despite the pressure of the demand for their help, Marsh says it’s better than the alternative.
“There’s lots of different ways that people traditionally have dealt with an unwanted animal, so we’re happy that people come to us, but what we are not happy about is having to turn them away because of our capacity,” Marsh said.
To keep up with the growing demand for its services, the shelter is planning to build a new state-of-the-art facility.
Georgian Triangle Humane Society rendering of the new Regional Centre for Pets and People that is soon to be under construction.
Supplied by Georgian Triangle Humane Society
Georgian Triangle Humane Society rendering of the new Regional Centre for Pets and People that is soon to be under construction.
Supplied by Georgian Triangle Humane Society
The 19,000-square-foot animal centre will be built on five acres of secured land, enabling the humane society to dramatically expand its ability to care for and help people connect with the animals it serves.
With the ability to provide more critical services, the organization says it will finally have the space to offer genuine hope for the pets and people who come to it for support.
Construction on the Regional Centre for Pets and People, which is designed to amplify the impact of the GTHS in the years to come, will start in early July.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays’ pitching depth is teetering — which makes it a bad time for one of their most reliable starters to be struggling.
Kevin Gausman allowed seven earned runs over 4 1/3 innings as the Blue Jays fell 9-5 against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, denying their sixth sweep of the season.
“I feel like everybody kind of did their job this series and I just didn’t,” Gausman said. “We’re playing really good right now and going for a sweep today and I go out there and do that. So I’m pretty frustrated.”
The 34-year-old gave up seven hits and three walks as his record dropped to 5-6. Manager John Schneider pulled him after he hit Diamondbacks outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., with a pitch to load the bases with one out in the fifth inning.
Both Schneider and Gausman pointed to the righty’s command as the root of his recent struggles.
“When he’s good, he’s on the attack, he’s getting ahead of you and then he’s kind of dominating those 1-1 counts. And that hasn’t been the case,” Schneider said.
Gausman has walked 12 batters in 20 June innings compared to one in 31 innings in May. He’s now allowed 17 earned runs through 20 innings over four starts this month, a rough follow-up to a sterling May in which he went 3-1 with a 2.81 ERA.
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He said strike percentage has been “the story” of his season.
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“June’s been really ugly for me and so I need to take a deep look and figure some things out and get better. I feel like if I can get back to who I am, I think that’s the next step for this team and I hope to be a big part of it and right now I feel like I’m not doing my end,” Gausman said.
Catcher Alejandro Kirk blasted two solo home runs for Toronto (40-34), which had won the first two of the three-game interleague series. Centre fielder Jonatan Clase also added a solo shot.
The Blue Jays sit in the second wild-card position in the American League, one game back of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Diamondbacks (37-37) climbed to .500 with the win.
Arizona’s Eugenio Suarez and Pavin Smith combined for two home runs and seven RBIs in the victory, with the slugging Suarez — who ended the game a triple away from the cycle — especially proving to be a thorn in Gausman’s side.
“He had a plan going in obviously and I think I kind of fed right into his plan just about every at-bat,” Gausman said.
The Rogers Centre roof opened about 20 minutes before the game, and Schneider mentioned windy conditions — with gusts up to 32 kilometres per hour at first pitch — as a factor in Gausman’s outing.
“I’ve pitched plenty of games windy and I kinda need to make that adjustment,” Gausman said. “My split was moving a lot today, but I just couldn’t make that adjustment to figure out how to throw it for a strike and then how to throw it for a ball.”
Gausman’s next start is likely to come next week against the Cleveland Guardians, whose 277 runs entering Thursday were fourth fewest in the American League.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays continue to face other questions in their rotation.
After the game, Toronto announced that right-hander Spencer Turnbull would start Friday’s series opener against the Chicago White Sox. The spot would have belonged to Bowden Francis, who was recently placed on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder impingement.
Turnbull, who signed with the Blue Jays in May, has made two relief appearances for the club, allowing seven hits and one earned run in 4.1 innings.
Eric Lauer, who started and pitched five strong innings in a win Wednesday, has bounced between relief, starting and bulk roles with the team but could round out the rotation — along with Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Jose Berrios — for the time being.
Elsewhere, Max Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, made his second rehab start with the triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Wednesday. His next game action could come at the major-league level.
Trey Yesavage, the Blue Jays’ first-round pick one year ago, recently moved up to double-A and was tied for the minor-league lead with 96 strikeouts through Wednesday’s action.
But Scherzer, who has pitched three MLB innings this season, and Yesavage, whose next MLB pitch will be his first, remain mysteries to an extent.
And so the urgency for Gausman to regain control of the strike zone and rediscover his May form is apparent.
“(Gausman’s) elite when he’s ahead in counts, and I think just not getting there has been tough for him,” Schneider said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
TORONTO – Eugenio Suarez and Pavin Smith combined to drive in seven runs as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-5 on Thursday.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman struggled through 4 1/3 innings to take the loss, allowing seven earned runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out four.
Catcher Alejandro Kirk blasted two solo home runs for Toronto (41-34), which was denied its sixth sweep of the season after winning the first two games of the interleague series.
Suarez’s damage came early for the Diamondbacks (37-37), who climbed back to .500 with the win.
The third baseman backed up a bloop single from Canadian Josh Naylor with his 22nd home run of the season in the second inning, then struck again in the third with a two-out, two-run double. He added a single in the fifth and finished a triple away from the cycle.
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Smith, the first baseman, smashed a two-run home run in the fifth inning and drove in another run on a sacrifice fly one inning later.
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Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte and outfielder Randal Grichuk contributed one RBI apiece.
Kirk added an RBI single in the eighth as the Blue Jays briefly threatened a late comeback. Centre fielder Jonatan Clase hit his second long ball of the season to open the inning and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., pounded an RBI double three batters later, but George Springer hit into a double play to end the rally.
Gausman’s performance was a continuation of some June woes. The 34-year-old, whose record fell to 5-6, has now allowed 17 earned runs through 20 innings over four starts this month, a rough follow-up to a sterling May in which he went 3-1 with a 2.81 ERA.
Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson (4-2) earned the win after tossing 5.2 innings with four strikeouts and two walks. The lone hit he allowed was Kirk’s first home run.
AILING OUTFIELD
Right fielder Alan Roden was a late scratch for the Blue Jays with right knee inflammation. He was replaced by rookie Will Robertson.
Clase was back in the starting lineup and hitting ninth. He missed Wednesday’s game after he was hit by a pitch in Tuesday’s series opener.
Toronto already has three outfielders — Daulton Varsho, Anthony Santander and Nathan Lukes — on the injured list. A fourth, Myles Straw, has missed two straight games and is day-to-day with an ankle injury.
COMING UP
Toronto begins a three-game home series against the Chicago White Sox on Friday. The Blue Jays’ starting pitcher has yet to be announced, while the White Sox will send out right-hander Davis Martin (2-7, 3.79 ERA).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
The Ontario government says it’s introducing two financial assistance programs to help municipalities and businesses recover from a severe March ice storm.
The storm in late March left nearly 400,000 homes and businesses with power outages and damaged property as freezing rain covered parts of Ontario in layers of ice.
The province says it will launch two one-time financial assistance programs to help with ice storm recovery, including one to help municipalities pay for emergency response and cleanup costs such as clearing fallen trees.
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The other program will provide up to $5 million for small businesses, small farms and not-for-profit organizations to pay for storm-related cleanup and essential repairs not covered by private insurance.
The province did not specify how much money it has set aside for the programs, but said final amounts for business assistance will be based on the number of applicants and eligible costs, while municipal funding will be based on the eligible emergency response and recovery costs.
The province says eligible businesses and municipalities will have until Oct. 31 to apply for the funding.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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