Pound Rescue is celebrating 25 years of taking care of animals that are hurt, sick or in need of a home and this year the Wheel Cares campaign will again help the Okotoks-based animal rescue group carry out their mission.
Rosa Kurtz is a board member and trustee with Pound Rescue and said the past year has seen some big changes.
“When COVID first hit, we started getting a lot of applications, so we were able to take in a lot more animals because they were being adopted out quickly,” Kurtz said. “Since the late summer, it has slowed right down. We have 25 dogs and 30 cats in our care right now that we are trying to adopt out.”
The rescue agency has also seen animals stay in the care of a foster family for much longer than usual, she said.
“We have kittens and they are still there and they are over a year old,” said Kurtz. “We have four litters like that and they are not getting adopted. That is a worry for us because as they get older no one wants to adopt them.”
Besides taking care of surrendered animals, Pound Rescue will also help pay for spaying, neutering, feeding and improving the lives of animals.
This summer volunteers built 20 heated and insulated houses for dogs on the Eden Valley Reserve. They also feed 17 colonies of feral cats in areas around Okotoks. Those cats also had to be spayed or neutered.
“We fixed them all,” Kurtz said. “There were hundreds that were fixed.”
Pound Rescue can pay as much as $100,000 a year in veterinary bills, she said. They always try to get the best possible outcome for the animals, said Kurtz, which at times can be costly.
She said at one time they had four dogs with various leg injuries and they were able to use a specialist to save three of the dogs from having an amputation, Kurtz related.
“Ninety per cent of our expenses are our vets,” she said, adding all the costs are covered by donations.
Initiatives like the Wheel Cares campaign donation are important to the group, especially during the pandemic when their ability to fundraise is just starting to pick up again.
“With donations, it is really a lot slower,” she said.
This year Pound Rescue has again put together gift baskets for pets up for donations. They will be set up at local grocery stores this year, where people can pick up a basket. People can also sign up for the sponsor a pet program or make a donation online through canadahelps.org.
She said being included in Wheel Cares is a boost for the organization.
“It means a lot to the animals,” she said. “Nobody gets paid anything here. It goes to the animals. There is so much need for it. There is so much financial need.”
She said there is often the misconception that Pound Rescue is an organization that only helps animals and not people, which limits donations.
“I feel animal rescues are overlooked because they feel we don’t help people as much, but we are helping people by helping their animals. And we help through education," she said.
The 2021 Western Wheel Cares campaign will benefit seven organizations: Foothills Advocacy in Motion Society, Foothills Country Hospice, Inclusion Foothills, Okotoks Food Bank, Pound Rescue, Rowan House Society and Sheep River Health Trust.
The 2020 campaign exceeded expectations with a record $71,379.65 raised, bringing the total raised over the nine years to $414,282.
This year’s Wheel Cares campaign runs Nov. 1 to Dec. 31.
To donate to Western Wheel Cares: mail cheques to Box 150, Okotoks Ab. T1S 2A2 or click here for a Paypal donation link.
As well, you can drop by to the Wheel office at 9 McRae St., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch.)
