A call came in from a local animal care and control facility who had a 10 year old cat named Louise at their facility. The cat was microchipped and they were able to locate the owner, Rosemarie, however she was hospitalized and unable to go to the facility to pick Louise up. Furthermore, Louise would only be held at the facility for a few days and Rosemarie didn’t know when she would be out of the hospital and able to look after Louise.
One Family Welfare collaborates with many different organizations to ensure when people are in crisis their pets have care. We quickly had paperwork completed through the hospital and went to pick up Louise.
Louise spent 25 days with us while Rosemarie was hospitalized. While with us she received a dental cleaning to ensure she would be able to spend her senior years free of dental issues. Rosemarie called when she got home to arrange an appointment for Louise to head home. Unfortunately, Louise was only home for 20 days when Rosemarie was re-admitted to the hospital. We quickly assisted to bring Louise back into our program. Louise remembered her temporary caregivers and easily settled back in for her second stay with us while her human got the care she needed.
In a few weeks Rosemarie was discharged from the hospital and reunited with Louise.
This story is not unique.
When in crisis, pet owners are often unable to focus on their own mental and physical wellbeing until they know that their companion animal will be safe. The Crisis Care Program provides reprieve to pet owners dealing with a life-changing event that impedes on their ability to care for their companion animal(s).
The Alberta SPCA’s Crisis Care Program was launched in 2019. This program is designed for individuals that have run out of safe options, it is a last resort program for individuals experiencing crisis and are unable to care for their animals temporarily.
Refuge should be available to everyone.