Worcester Business Journal

8 Worcester Business Journal | June 30, 2025 | wbjournal.com A new level of need About 49.4% households in Massachu- setts included a pet in 2016, according to data from American Veterinary Medical Association, up from the 31% shown in a 1996 study conducted for the Massachu- setts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. is was before the 20% surge in adoptions during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. is mirrors national data, with 89.7 million dogs and 73.8 million cats in households in 2024, verus 52.9 million dogs and 59.8 million cats in 1996. With intakes also dropping as a result of the pandemic, shelters were seeing their kennels emptied out in the early 2020s. Flash forward to 2025, Central Massachusetts animal nonprofits now are struggling to keep up with the number of pets in need of a home. Shelters like the Worcester Animal Rescue League are suspending intakes until further notice, according to its website. "Shelters are saying they're dealing with distribution problems, backlog problems, and funding issues," Lindsay said. "With a shelter like Baypath, I PHOTOS | EDD COTE FOCUS THE DOG EDITION Ruff times Rising costs of living and petcare are forcing shelters to adapt to the increase in pets needing a home BY ERIC CASEY WBJ Managing Editor N o longer regulated to a dog house on the edge of the lawn, pets are playing a bigger role in American families than ever before, taking center stage in holiday cards and on their own social media accounts. But the increasing number of people who have adopted dogs or cats, partic- ularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, have been faced with increased costs of living, housing-related challenges, and the skyrocketing cost of pet supplies and care. With challenges for current and pro- spective pet owners mounting, Central Massachusetts animal shelters are feeling the crunch, with some suspending new intakes amid a pressing need for space. Already working from a tiny facility for decades, the nonprofit Baypath Humane Society of Hopkinton is constructing a new larger and modern shelter. Baypath's expansion couldn't come at a better time, said Anne Lindsay, founder and president of the Massachusetts Animal Coalition, as shelters wrestle with an unprecedented number of pets. "It's definitely been a tough time now for a bunch of reasons," Lindsay said. "We're all living it and experiencing it." Cleo, a seven-year old, mixed-breed dog, (pictured with Volunteer Coordinator Kathy Lundgren) has been at Baypath Humane in Hopkinton for nearly a year, as the shelter works to build a new facility amid high demand for shelter space. call them the little engine that could, because I don't know how they do it, but they keep turning along." While a narrative has emerged saying people can no longer handle the realities of post-pandemic pet ownership, the reality is much more complex, said Lindsay. Pet owners have wrestled with the higher costs of living, struggles to find and maintain pet-friendly housing, and the surging price of animal care. Baypath has dealt with a steady stream of pet owners who are reluctant- ly relinquishing their cats and dogs, not because of a lack of time, but because of a lack of money or housing. "ere's the narrative that a lot of people brought their pets back aer COVID," said Liz Jefferis, executive director of Baypath Humane Society of Hopkinton. "We don't see a lot of that. What we're seeing is 'I lost my home,' or 'I can't afford my medical care,' or 'I can't afford my pet's medical care.'" During the pandemic, Baypath was accepting a majority of their animals from out of state, but the majority of the dogs and cats in the shelters now are locals. Baypath had 42 cats and 33 dogs listed for adoption on its website as of June 19, a stark difference from COVID. The rise of Big Vet As technology and treatments have improved over the past few decades, pet owners have more options than euthani- zation, once the only potential outcome for many pet health issues. Increased levels of care comes with increased costs. A March whitepaper from Vetsource, a business solution platform for veterinary practices, found veterinary visits decreased 2.3% in 2024 compared to 2023, as owners struggled with an 8% increase in veterinary cost, 1.6 times the national inflation rate. For households with dogs, annual vet costs climbed 60% from 2020 to 2022, from $224 to $362, according to Global Market Insights data. For cat house- holds, those costs increased 70%, from $189 to $321. With costs increasing, a Gallup survey in May showed 52% of pet owners in the U.S. report having skipped needed veterinary care in the past year, with about 3 out of 4 households making less than $60,000 citing affordability. "e economic growth and consumer pressures just seem like they are lining up to enter a weaker economic phase and that will impact veterinary visit data pretty significantly for 2025," Katelyn McCullock, American Veterinary Med- ical Association chief economist, said in an October blog post published by the organization. "How long that lasts, I think is anyone's guess, but we'll have to just keep monitoring that data." In addition to rising costs due to improved treatment technology, con- solidation and the influence of private equity acquisitions of longtime small veterinary clinics is playing a role. Baypath volunteer Esha Shaw plays with one of the more than 25,000 animals the nonprofit has adopted out in its nearly 50 years of operation.

• Cover