Goosemoose Pet Portal - Small Animal Crisis in Toronto

We are in the midst of the worst small animal crisis that I have ever seen in this city. The Toronto Humane Society is currently sitting with about 50 rats at their facility in downtown Toronto. That number doesn't include rats at other animal control and SPCA facilities. There are over a dozen more scattered around the area.
A friend and I visited on Wednesday night and it is a very grim situation down there. The small animal room is literally packed to the rafters with rats. You can barely move around because tables have been set up in the middle of the room for the degus and hamsters. There are animals in other locations in the building, which unfortunately limits their visibility to walk in visitors, because there is just not enough space in the small animal room for their cages. It is a good thing that some visitors come with information about specific animals taken from their website, because those animals are elsewhere. Their website, although updated frequently, also doesn't include all the animals at the facility. I took a boy home with me Wednesday that was not listed on the website, but was visible in the small animal room. They really are doing the best they can down there, but it must be tough for them to keep track of everyone because of the numbers.
It is to the point where the Toronto Humane Society might be faced with turning away surrenders. That will spell tragedy for those animals because although the THS is not entirely no kill, it is by far the safest place for animals to be surrendered to in this city. Animals surrendered to other facilities run the risk of being
euthanized immediately.
The rats down there are in great shape as far as their health is concerned. Their food bowls are full with lab blocks, all of them have fresh, full water bottles. Each cage has been equipped with igloos or other hiding spots, and they were all being bedded on aspen. They are split up into groups, and have plenty of space in
their cages. We didn't see any signs of any illnesses at all. The PEW babies are all extremely active and friendly, climbing up the sides of the cages for attention from visitors. The groups that have been down there since July are in excellent shape, none the worse for their extended stay.
I don't know how many of you are in the Toronto area, but I am hoping that by posting this there might be some members who will consider a trip down to the Toronto Humane if they were considering adding to their ratty families in the near future. They are in dire need of some relief down there.
It was so heartbreaking to visit and see the situation first hand. One woman that my friend was speaking to was in tears after seeing the amount of animals there. It would be really great to see those guys get homes, not only for their sake, but for the sake of others that might need the services of the Toronto Humane Society in the near future.