Toronto Animal Services lowers adoption fees until May 5 to get good dogs with 'bad names' into homes

The City of Toronto is lowering adoption fees until Sunday to find homes for a number of dogs with “ridiculous, bizarre and terrible names” living in the North York crowded shelter.

The new campaign showcases good dogs with “bad names” who are in need of new homes, and new names – the names range from Galleria Mall to Garlic Bread.

“These are good dogs. These are great dogs. But, they have bad names. We want you to change that. … You can adopt them for $50 and give them a home and name they deserve,” the city said in a social media post about four-year-old husky Dijon Ketchup.

“He’s fluffy. He’s puffy. He loves to share said fluffiness and puffiness with you!”

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The usual adoption fee for a dog in Toronto is $185 for a male dog and $215 for a female dog. It covers licensing, spray/neutering, vaccinations, and microchipping.

Elana Trainoff, a manager at Toronto Animal Services (TAS), told CTV News Toronto on Tuesday that the campaign, which launched on April 23, was inspired a trend on TikTok.

“We thought it would be really cute and fun way to get the dogs adopted,” she said. “At the end of the day, our aim is to find loving suitable homes for the dogs.”

So far, eight dogs – Warm Buttered Yams, Na-Na, La-La, Doot-Doo, The Sea and Her Mysteries, Dijon Ketchup, Garlic Bread and Teleprompter – have all found new homes, but 23 others are still waiting to be adopted, she said.

“We have been really lucky because the campaign has really taken off on social media,” Trainoff said.

“We are hoping each of the dogs find a home that’s suitable.”  

Short biographies of the dogs, as well as photos, are available on the TAS website.