SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The Great Slave Animal Hospital is considering cutting down the questions on a lengthy animal adoption application form which tries to screen out irresponsible pet owners because it can't screen out liars.

Hugo sits in his kennel in the Great Slave Animal Hospital pound on Sept. 29. - Tim Edwards/NNSL photo

The hospital operates a pound and 12-kennel shelter for pets in addition to its boarding kennel, and it's always full to the brim, according to veterinarian Dr. Tom Pisz - sometimes with the dogs the hospital just adopted out to people they thought would take care of them.

Questions in the five-page document range from queries about living conditions and previous experience with animals, to those on work hours and plans for the future, including having children and getting a new job.

It also requires references and, if applicable, a written letter of consent from the applicant's landlord. There is also a minimum of $135 adoption fee, which can range up to around $500 if the animal needs to be spayed or neutered, and given vaccinations.

"Some people take the dog and then don't want it because they are having a baby next year, so they get rid of the dog," said Pisz.

"The dog is a living creature ... It's not good for the animals to be tossed back and forth," said Pisz.

He said the questions are meant to help screen out people who don't know what they're getting into, and the form is also used as a way to remind people of the responsibilities involved in caring for a pet.

The animal shelter adopted out 158 dogs and cats last year. Hospital employee Bianca Schiavone said the number of applications the hospital receives is well above that, and some are rejected.

This hefty application form is necessary, according to Nicole Spencer, president of the NWT SPCA, considering how many animals return to the shelter, abused or neglected, after adoption.

"It has to be in-depth and they have to make sure the person realizes that it is a responsibility," said Spencer.

Pisz said the form, unfortunately, does not rule out liars.

"There is no such thing that we can use to screen the people and know for sure," said Pisz.

He said the form has helped a bit, an evolving document over the last few years. Before there was any application form dogs would be returned almost constantly. Still, the hospital is considering cutting the form down as it is currently cumbersome for both the applicant and the hospital, and as in depth as it is, it doesn't prevent people from lying.

"Maybe we should cut it down, we have this discussion every month because it does take a long time to fill that form and it takes a long time to read it and evaluate it, too," he said.

Whether or not the animals in the pound get put back on the street, Pisz said the population of stray dogs and cats is growing because the animals already out there are not spayed or neutered.

"There's no solution for the problem, it's hopeless. It's totally hopeless. You just try your best," said Pisz. "It's a mega problem. Nobody seems to care about it."

He hopes the problem, and the stresses on his facility, will be helped if plans to establish an NWT SPCA animal shelter bear fruit.

Spence said the SPCA recently thought it was close to securing a place, but it fell through and the organization is "back to square one."

"We've been for years trying to get land or build a shelter or rent something that we could turn into a shelter," said Spencer.

She said the main obstacles are the lack of available land in Yellowknife and the lack of funding. The SPCA does not get any funding from the national SPCA or any government sources - the only money it gets is from donations or corporate sponsors, and both First Air and Buffalo Air help out when it comes to transporting dogs around.

The NWT SPCA has set up a page on the Aviva Community Fund's website. The page is part of a national contest where ideas that promote positive change in communities compete for funding from Aviva Insurance. Those interested can make an account and vote for the NWT SPCA shelter.

Another option for funding they've considered is to look for corporations that will "sponsor a kennel" which will then bear the name of the sponsor.

Otherwise, Spencer said most of the operations are strictly volunteer-run.

"We need a definite facility. We need a structure that we can call the NWT SPCA, that we can house animals and so we can find them homes," said Spencer.

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