In what’s become a recurring theme, Pound Rescue is finding it difficult to take in new animals because it’s struggling to secure forever homes for the ones already in its care.
The Okotoks-based non-profit, one of seven local charities being supported by this year’s Western Wheel Cares campaign, has about 80 cats and 25 dogs in a network of foster homes.
Board member Stephanie Heidt makes no apologies for the stringent requirements Pound Rescue has in place for prospective adoptive parents.
“We're not a pet store, we're a rescue, so our main priority is to adopt our animals out to forever homes,” Heidt said. “So, we have to make sure that these homes will actually be forever and will be able to take care of those animals for the rest of their lives.
“We have to be picky, so it is difficult to find good homes, but unless we find the perfect home for that animal, we’re not adopting them out.”
Heidt said Pound Rescue’s foster homes are at capacity, but that doesn’t stop it from receiving four or five calls or emails every day from people wanting to surrender cats or those who have found cats.
“If we could take them all in, we would, but we just can't, we we're full, we're absolutely full,” she said.
Heidt, who has sat on the board for a decade, said Pound Rescue is always looking for more foster homes, but like potential adopters, they must be a good fit. Foster homes, which have all their costs covered, must be on the same page as the rescue when it comes to spaying and neutering, and must also have the space and time to devote to the animals.
“When people are at work 10, 11 hours a day, they're not going to be able to foster a bunch of puppies. That's just not realistic, so it's challenging to find foster homes," she said.
“We do have some very, very good foster homes with us and we appreciate them immensely. They're wonderful, wonderful people, but they are full right now, so that puts us in a position where we just have to say we are currently unable to take in any more animals.”
Heidt said money received from Western Wheel Cares will largely be put toward veterinary care as that expense accounts for as much as 90 per cent of the rescue’s budget in any given year.
She said a young dog in its care recently needed double elbow surgery, which cost tens of thousands of dollars, while more money was expended to address a couple of feral cat colonies in rural areas.
This year’s Western Wheel Cares campaign runs from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 and 100 per cent of donations go to the featured charities.
In 2022, the campaign raised a record $82,670, pushing its 11-year total to $569,059.
Each week, the Wheel will feature one of the 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 — supported by the initiative.
To donate to Western Wheel Cares, mail cheques to Box 150, Okotoks, AB, T1S 2A2 or visit westernwheel.ca/western-wheel-cares for a Paypal donation link.
As well, you can drop by the Wheel office at 9 McRae St. from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays (closed from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch) or call 403-938-6397.
