Animal care costs reach $1M this year: Alberta SPCA

Caring for a pet like this one can be very costly. Imagine how expensive it is to take care of hundreds of furry friends at once. The Alberta SPCA tells CityNews the cost of caring for the animals it has saved has doubled in the past year.

Rufus is one of the dogs taken into the care of the Alberta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, after a gunshot wound that left him permanently injured.

“The first minute I saw him I knew he was one of those thankful dogs that? His tail jumped on you. Even injured he was like this,” said Karen Stevenson, a peace officer with the Alberta SPCA.

Leanne Niblock, the Executive Director of the Alberta SPCA adds, “He’s a loving sweet dog. Like most of the dogs that come into our care.”

Rufus is one of 550 animals taken in this year by the SPCA. This according to the agency comes with a high price tag — $1 million in costs — more than double since last year.

“The million dollars is just an unprecedented milestone that we’ve reached before the year is even out and it doesn’t cover the cost of our officers in the field, any wages, any insurance, fuel anything like that,” explained Niblock.

Niblock says the increased number of animals in need of shelter and the lack of space at other welfare organizations are two major contributors to the rising cost of animal care.

“We’re seeing more animals than ever coming to our care. Working with our partners in the community who do adopt and foster animals out. They are also facing pressure and they’re full and so we’re having to shelter animals for much longer than what we were ever used to have to,” she explained.

Niblock says the rising cost of living is causing the increased cost of animal care.

“We know people are facing difficult decisions with to the higher cost of living, so we’re really hopeful we can come together to find ways to support people better that they don’t have to make difficult decisions,” said Niblock.

In addition to bringing awareness about animal cruelty, Niblock says updates are also needed to animal welfare laws in Alberta.

“We’re going to talk about the animal protection act this year. It hasn’t been updated in decades and we think if we can update the legislation it will solve some of the problems we’re facing now,” said Niblock.

Stevenson adds, “It’s kind of a fresh breath of air when we see them like this instead of in distress.”