Did you know the Animal Care & Control Centre houses more than 6,000 lost pets found in Edmonton each year?
The Centre takes care of sick, injured, and lost pets and victims of animal neglect, cruelty and abandonment.
Animal abandonment is an increasing issue in Edmonton and across the province. Last year, the Centre had so many surrenders that it stopped accepting healthy dogs.
“We’re seeing a dramatic increase in the number of dogs coming into our care and into the care of the other rescue and shelter organizations in and around the city,” John Wilson, director of Animal Control and Park Rangers, told Global News.
In his 30 years of experience at the Centre, Wilson said staff had never seen so many animals stay for so long in 2023.
Over half of the more than 6,000 animals the Centre takes care of yearly are sent to the Edmonton Humane Society (EHS) for adoption.
In 2022, the EHS admitted 3,625 animals, including 2,640 animals transferred from other shelters, 664 surrendered by their owners, 162 strays, and 159 other animals.
While financial or pet-health-related issues are a couple of the reasons why people surrender their animals, only ten percent of animals were surrendered by their owners for these reasons.
Many of the EHS’s animals spend days on end waiting to be adopted. On average, cats stay at the shelter for 13 days, while dogs stay for 28 days.
During this time, the EHS spends a fortune on animal food. In 2022, the shelter used almost 28,000 pounds of food for its dogs in care, a quarter of which was donated.
Did you know that the three most significant routine expenses for pets are food, veterinary care, and supplies like treats and poop bags?
Food is the most significant expense when it comes to owning a dog, with dog owners spending between $210 and $2,340 annually on food.
Buy One, Get Food Free
The EHS is bursting at the seams this year. To address capacity challenges, the shelter launched the Creatures Great & Small Adoptions Day event from July 19 to July 28.
A highlight of the event is reduced adoption fees for every animal, but that’s not even the best part. Seven of the shelter’s animals come with a lifetime supply of food.
“What we’re going to be doing is providing food for life for long-stay animals and older animals that have been here a long time,” James Burns, director of marketing for Champion Pet Foods, told Global News.
The seven animals aren’t hard to find at the shelter. Their profiles are specially marked with a “Food For Life” sticker making them easy to spot.
One of these long-stay animals is Penelope, a black cat who has been a resident of the shelter for many years. She loves cheek scratches, sunbathing, and window-watching—who doesn’t?
Sadly, black cats don’t get adopted nearly as much as other cats and are more likely to be euthanized.
According to the AFB Pet Club, black cats get adopted 50 percent less than cats without other coats. There are many reasons for this, including superstitions like “Never let a black cat cross your path.”
Other reasons include people preferring more colourful cats or thinking black cats look worse in photos. Black cats like Penelope are just as loveable as other cats.
During the event, dogs who have been in the EHS’s care for over 30 days may receive a 30 percent discount on training classes, which increases to 50 percent for dogs who have stayed at the shelter longer than 50 days.
All other dogs in the EHS’s care are eligible for a ten percent discount on training classes.
The Creature Great & Small Adoption Day event is an excellent opportunity to meet many of the animals abandoned by their owners in Edmonton.
Adopting a pet would help the EHS, and you might just meet your best friend. When you adopt an animal, you aren’t just making their day; you are making their whole life.
