Companion animals provide unique health benefits such as alleviating depression and anxiety, which makes pet ownership desirable to many Canadians (Maharaj, 2016). Not to mention their adorable appeal. Canada was home to over 6.4 million dogs and 8.5 million cats in 2016 (Hunter & Brisbin, 2016). Each province and territory in Canada has their own preventative companion animal cruelty legislation to provide animal welfare.
