It’s a big commitment to adopt an animal. In the few months after Christmas, the CNY-SPCA sees young animals coming in, usually ones that are three to six months old.

To prevent this, they recommend when adopting, to bring the whole family with you, and to not buy a pet as a holiday gift. There’s a chance the recipient might not want the pet or be uninterested after the holiday. They have also seen an increase in animals that are between a year to a year and a half old.

“Our best guess is these are pandemic puppies, and now people are going back to work, their lives are getting busier, and they don’t have time for that pandemic puppy,” said Dee Schaefer, with the CNY-SPCA.

Over the last couple of months, the shelter says if they received approximately 22 strays, around 15 of those would be picked up by their owner.

Sometimes job loss or other life situations may make it tough to purchase pet food. The CNY-SPCA offers a food pantry for pet food to help out pet owners.