Pets are not Christmas presents, warn at-capacity Edmonton shelters

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      Edmonton area animal rescues are seeing an unprecedented number of animals come through their doors. As Laura Krause reports, they’re hoping to find permanent or foster homes for the holidays.

      There’s nothing like going home for the holidays. But for many dogs and cats at the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society in Edmonton. They don’t have anywhere to go.

      The animal rescue is nearly at capacity for cats and was expecting more than 30 dogs and puppies to be brought last Friday.

      “Capacity is always a challenge at this time of year. Once it starts to get cold, we find a lot of people are finding animals outside,” said Leigh McLean, Edmonton operations Manager, AARCS (Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society).

      It’s a similar story over at the Edmonton Humane Society where they are at capacity. While they hope to find fur-ever homes for all animals, they ask people considering pets as gifts to be aware of the responsibilities that come with it.

      “We always recommend that gift-givers have a really good sense of what that family is looking for and that they’ve had that conversation to make sure the family is prepared to take on that responsibility of a pet. A pet can be a wonderful gift as long as that conversation has taken place,” said Liza Sunley, CEO of the Edmonton Humane Society.

      A cat up for adoption at AARCS. (Photo Credit: Laura Krause, CityNews)

      “Taking on a pet is a big responsibility. There are costs associated with that and time, and the whole family really needs to be on board with that. So we really work with our potential adopters to know what they are getting into.”

      Leigh McLean at the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society says keeping pets out of the shelter is their top goal. But if you’re not ready for the long-term commitment of owning an animal, she says fostering is a great option this holiday season.

      “We want to try our best to get as many animals into a home, whether it’s a foster home or an adoptive home before Christmas. That’s always our goal,” said McLean.

      “Foster is a really good way to dip your feet in and see if it is something that’s right for you. We have a lot of foster homes who end up adopting their animals, which is never a bad thing.”

      AARCS shelter location in Edmonton. (Photo Credit: Laura Krause, CityNews)

      When asked why are people surrendering their pets, McLean responded, “The pattern that we are seeing, especially this year, is the cost of living. Housing is really challenging to come across, especially housing that allows large-breed dogs. We’re also seeing a lot of cost issues with vet care.”

      However, compared to previous years, AARCS says they seem to be taking in more pets.

      “This year is significant in a way that it just seems to be ‘more’. We’ve had more intake requests, more requests for things like food through our food assistance program, more requests for vet care assistance, it just seems to be more substantial which is a challenge.”

      The Edmonton Humane Society had their Shelter Animal Toy Drive take place earlier this month. They reached their goal of 1,000 toys in ten days.

      Toy bin at the Edmonton Humane Society. (Photo Credit: Laura Krause, CityNews)

      The toys will go to shelter animals who won’t find a home before the holidays to help them feel loved and a little less lonely while they wait to find a new home.

      The Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society says they are always looking for foster, and say this time of year is extra challenging to find volunteers as they head out to family gatherings.

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