Since 1922 the Calgary Humane Society has been helping the needy. Originally created by nine people to help the homeless, children, and animals, over time other organizations have stepped up to help the humans, allowing the Humane Society to focus on helping animals in need.
“We opened our first shelter in 1960 off Edmonton Trail, which handled about 2500 animals per year. By the 70’s we were receiving 7000 – 8000 animals. We opened the current location in 1976 and have expanded it since then and take in around 10,000 animals per year,” Cheryl Wallach, Manager of Community Relations and Marketing told GayCalgary.com. “Most of those are cats, we receive between 6000 to 7000, plus 2000 dogs and 1000 other animals. Most of the other animals are rabbits, guinea pigs and such. We aren’t seeing as many animals such as iguanas anymore because they aren’t sold in many places. The hot pet right now is degus, so we are getting a lot of them because they reproduce like mad.”
The society has outgrown its home for the last thirty years and recently broke ground on a new complex in the East Lake industrial area near Douglasdale in the Southeast. The ten million dollar project has been in the works for a number of years.
“We have been raising money for the shelter over the past few years and very intensely over the last year. We have been saving over time because we knew the day was coming to move. Our current shelter is 15,000 square feet, the new one will be 43,000. The most exciting thing will be the animal housing component. When this shelter was built, the thought was to put the animals into a small cage and get them turned around as quickly as possible. Now we look at how the cages impact them, it is very stressful and negative so the new shelter will be a cageless environment. The dogs will have rooms and the cats will have vertical “phone booth” styles areas with individual ventilation and drainage. A lot of diseases are spread through the air or body fluids, and there will be very slim chance of disease spreading because it will not be exchanged. Reduction in stress and illness will help us house the animals for a longer period of time. Plus, people feel they can’t look at the animals in cages because it makes them sad. What other shelters have found is that their adoptions have gone up without cages because people are more comfortable.”
The new facility will also help fend off a long-standing misconception.
“One of the things we are still battling is the image that we kill animals. People think if they bring in a stray we will just put it down – that is not how it works. [This misconception] stems in part from advertising in the 70’s and 80’s that showed animals dying because of lack of spaying and neutering. What has happened because of that is instead of an increase in the number of spaying and neuterings, SPCA’s have been branded as the place where animals go to die. It can be challenging for people who work here, but it is really rewarding because we are able to save the majority of animals that come here.”
Wallach explained the process of keeping animals.
“The only animals that have a limited stay are cats, because they are the highest volume and most susceptible to disease. If a cat gets upper respiratory disease or is ill, people don’t want to adopt it. In 1993 a minimum stay was put on cats, and it was a big debate because we are here to save them. What we have found is that cats on average are adopted in 7 days and sick in eight. We have found that adoptions have gone up and euthanasia has gone down because people were coming back for other cats since they were so healthy. Dogs and caged animals don’t have a limit on their stay. As long as their health and temperament remain stable they will remain in the facility.”
But it can be very challenging for an animal to stay stable and healthy in a shelter environment. The Humane Society works very hard to keep its animals physically and mentally well.
“An animal comes from a home and a routine to the shelter, and a different routine can be really hard. We have put in a lot of different programs for the animals – the Kitty Karma program that allows them social contact, toys in the kennels, and stuffed animals to comfort kittens. They all have carpet to scratch and towels and blankets that go home with them. There are also hiding places, which is important. For the dogs we have an in shelter training program, regular dog walking, a dog park program, and crates in the kennel to get them used to being [inside them].”
The society could not exist without its nearly 600 volunteers.
“We couldn’t do the work we do without the volunteers, particularly the programs like the dog walking and kitty karma, that is all volunteers doing the programs. Dog walking is out most popular job – we have 67 dog walkers, so the dogs are out every day. We don’t have to actively recruit or advertise, people on a regular basis contact us wanting to be volunteers. The easiest way is online, we have a volunteer page under “Helping Animals.” We have an outline of our volunteer positions as well as the schedule of info nights. A majority of the jobs are volunteer, you can help in the shelter, or if it is hard to come here you can volunteer outside doing fundraising or events. We have monthly information nights that are booked through to August.”
Fundraising is also especially important, with annual events such as a lottery, dog walks, and this year’s “Sail for Tails” cruise!
“We have regular fundraising events. ‘Dog Jog and More’ on June 5th is a fundraising pet walk, but we also have canine games, the Police Canine Unit will be doing a demo, we have pet massage, photographers, and a pet psychic. We have experts on dogs, cats and bunnies and we actually have events this year people can bring rabbits and ferrets to. We go through a really nice area on the Currie Barracks where we can’t normally take dogs. People can donate online, stop by the shelter or mail in donations. We run a lottery every year as well, and our cruise is new this year. We have a number of suites and staterooms booked on a cruise in December, and every purchase will result in $150 being donated to the Calgary Humane Society.”
While those who work and volunteer at the Society love what they do, it can be challenging as well.
“Friends say ‘I could never work there because I would want to hurt people who bring animals in.’ It is challenging to be as sympathetic to the people as we are to the animals. When I started here I had to learn a lot of information about animals and their care, you learn all the time. I don’t think you can expect the public to have the same knowledge because they haven’t worked with thousands of animals. It can be hard to remember that when people are presenting issues to us, and we are presenting solutions, sometimes they just can’t keep them anymore. That is a difficult thing.”
Another difficult thing can be saying goodbye to animals, whether due to adoptions or the animal becoming sick.
“That is a huge thing, there is no one way to deal with the fact that we can’t save them all. Most people focus on those they can help rather than cope with who they can’t. If you focus on what you can’t do you, forget about what you can. There is a lot of what’s called ‘compassion fatigue’ when you do social work or work in hospitals and nursing homes because you do get emotionally involved but can’t help everyone. It is the same with animals – burnout can be high. We always really encourage people to keep in touch with us and they send notes and photos. There was a dog named Dakota who was here for six months. We had a story [on the news] about puppies found in a dumpster, and this woman came to see the puppies and saw Dakota and fell in love. There were tears when that dog left because everyone was so happy. We get cards and photos of how happy she is.”
The Calgary Humane Society is about all of the things mentioned in this article, but mostly it is about bringing the right person together with the right companion. Any pet is a long commitment and the Society’s job is to make sure once an animal is adopted they get the proper care and attention so they don’t come back.
“We try to help people make the right match. You want to look quite objectively at your lifestyle and the time that you have and determine what type of animal fits into that. Dogs are more demanding of your time compared to other animals. If you are out and about and not home much, a dog isn’t the right choice. Cats are becoming more popular with people because they can take time away easier than [with dogs]. We have a great book here called ‘Choosing a Dog’ that was written by trainers as opposed to breeders, so it discusses the lifestyle needs of the animal. With more unusual animals the more research you do the better. A lot of people don’t know a huge amount about them, and are open to learning when they feel they are prepared for dogs and cats. People still make mistakes as is evident every day when animals are surrendered to us. Our job is to keep that from happening so we help people choose well.”
The Calgary Humane Society
1323 - 36 Ave NE
Calgary, Alberta T2E 6T6
General Offices & Adoption
(403) 250-7722
Animal Admissions
(403) 250-5678
www.calgaryhumane.ca
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