With 90 cats and nearly 20 dogs currently in care, the Medicine Hat SPCA is at capacity in all areas.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
The Medicine Hat SPCA is at full capacity for all animals and needs some urgent help.
Shelter director Tom Carney explained, “Once COVID restrictions lifted, we’ve seen an increase in animal relinquishment across the board. Currently, we are at capacity (in all areas). They have 90 cats in their care with 20 out in foster homes. All the dog kennels are full, with 15-20 dogs at the shelter and some out in foster homes. In the small animal room are four birds (budgies), two guinea pigs, and four rabbits. Right now, there is a waiting list for all of our animals to be taken into the shelter.”
Adoptions were plentiful during the pandemic, but with people returning to old routines, many are running into problems with care.
“We’ve been finding that at the beginning of COVID, everyone was on board and were adopting animals,” said Carney. “Now, with people returning to work and with inflation, we are seeing some people not being able to afford the animal. We’ve also run into some landlords that have decided to increase the pet rental, so people on fixed incomes have a hard time meeting those requirements.
“All of this is coming to fruition and more people are relinquishing their animals, which is a sad thing for us and the animals.”
The SPCA is always looking for people interested in fostering, and you can find foster applications on their website – http://www.medhatspca.ca – or you can call the shelter at 403-526-7722 and they would be happy to help anyone interested with the fostering process.
For meet-and-greets, the SPCA is still doing them by appointment only.
“Mostly for dogs,” said Carney. “We want to ensure we are matching the right dog with the right people. Same with the cats, we want animals to go and find their forever homes and we want that to be a great match.”
It is not normally a same-day adoption. There are usually two or three meet-and-greets with dogs, and at least one meet-and-greet with a cat just so they can be assured it is the proper match for people and animals.
Donations are always being accepted at the SPCA. Needed are dry and wet cat and dog food, along with leafy greens for the small animals. They also take towels and flat sheets but not fitted sheets. No pillows either as they tend to get destroyed in the commercial washing machine. Gently used animal beds which are clean and in good condition are also welcome.
