Frequently Asked Questions

• Facilitate adoptions to help dogs, cats and small animals match with their perfect family and find their forever home. Last year we facilitated nearly 700 adoptions!
• Provide shelter and care for over 1,500 lost, injured and abandoned animals each year.
• Reduce pet overpopulation by providing spay/neuter surgery for every dog/cat/kitten/puppy that is adopted from our shelter (all animals are spayed/neutered before they’re available for adoption).

The Peterborough Humane Society was established in 1941. The old shelter at 385 Lansdowne Street was built in 1956 and designed initially as a pound. This shelter operated until January 2023, when we moved to our new Centre at 1999 Technology Drive. As an Affiliate of the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society, we work together to prevent cruelty to animals and care for those that have been abused, lost or neglected.

Currently, we provide the following:

• Dog and Cat Licensing (legally required by the City of Peterborough).
• Admissions – We take in animals that have been surrendered (owner can no longer care for them), abandoned, stray as well as abused and neglected animals.
• Spay/Neuter Services – We spay and neuter all animals in our care before they are available for adoption. Our Centre operates the Peterborough Regional Spay/Neuter Clinic
• Animal Control – The City of Peterborough’s municipal code regulates many aspects of animal welfare and pet ownership. We enforce this municipal code and also provide full animal control services to four townships within Peterborough County.
• SNooPY – Our Safe Nights for Pets Program gives pets a home away from home for up to 10 days when their families are displaced in times of crisis. Snoopy provides free temporary emergency animal care when the owners are dealing with trauma like domestic abuse, homelessness, or other precarious situations.
• Pet Safety – We act as an advocate for pets, helping to define best practices in animal welfare and working with the community to promote responsible pet ownership.

Each year we take in over 1,500 animals – many are lost, injured or abandoned. While in our care we provide each animal with a safe, warm temporary home, healthy food, water, medical care, love and attention. We are an excellent choice if you are seeking a companion animal and often have many dogs, cats and small animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs or hamsters.

The Peterborough Humane Society, in partnership with the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society, established an innovation in animal wellness – Canada’s first Dog Rehabilitation Centre. Built within the new Peterborough Humane Society’s Animal Care Centre, the Dog Rehabilitation Centre is on the cutting-edge of animal care and well-being.

At the Peterborough Humane Society, we only euthanize an animal for one of two reasons:

• We cannot medically save an animal or,
• The animal has extreme aggression and would threaten the safety of our community.

We never euthanize an animal because we have run out of space.

We never euthanize an animal because of their age.

We never euthanize because of the amount of time an animal has spent at our shelter.

The Peterborough Humane Society is an open-admission, no-suffering, low-euthanasia shelter. Open admission means that we will not turn animals away and take in and provide care for all stray animals across Peterborough County.

Euthanasia is a last resort and only considered for animals we can’t help – meaning animals with medical or behavioural challenges that can’t reasonably be overcome. Our staff do not take these decisions lightly and explore all potential options to save an animal’s life and find them their forever home.

One example of how our staff go above and beyond to rehome animals is our collaboration with the Humane Society of Oromocto in New Brunswick. In 2018 worked with them to rehome pitbulls that are illegal in the province of Ontario.