Today, the #EHS appealed to the media to spread the message about the severe shortage of kennel space at our shelter. We have closed our doors to all owner-surrendered cats, and are at capacity for owner-surrendered dogs, with only emergency canine surrenders being admitted into care. Our capacity issues are due to a sudden spike in owner-surrendered pets, and the onset of “kitten season” – the time of year when the shelter is inundated with litters of newborn felines. Currently, we have 143 dogs/puppies and 439 cats/kittens in our care. As a result of todays media attention, we are seeing some confusion as to why, with so many animals in our care, we do not have more available adoptables – a fair question. The number of animals we have in care, and the number of animals available for adoption, are not the same. Only a small portion of the animals in our care are adoptable at any one time. Before an animal that comes into our care is ready for adoption, he/she must undergo a medical and behavioural assessment, and receive any necessary treatment before being placed up for adoption. Part of this process includes spay/neuter surgeries, which the majority of the animals that come into our care have not already had. This creates a backlog for shelter veterinarians, and none of these unaltered animals can be placed for adoption until their surgeries are completed. Again, this reflects the urgency of pet overpopulation and the importance of spaying and neutering. We do add animals to the adoption floor on an ongoing basis. We cannot post animals on our website if they have not gone through our assessment process, and are not ready for adoption. This is why you do not see 143 dogs and 439 cats on our site. Thank you to everyone who helped spread the message today to consider adopting from the EHS; we appreciate the support of our community in our mission to help homeless, abused, and/or neglected companion animals. #yeg #yegpets
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 23:37:47 +0000
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