While Alberta’s recent economic downturn resulted in lost property and jobs, some Albertans were also forced to give up a more irreplaceable asset – their companion animals.
Surrendered pets filled Alberta shelters to capacity as a result of job loss, being forced to move into no-pet housing or moving to another province for work.
One shelter who felt the effects of the downturn was the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS), where Kelsey Scoular, the cat program coordinator said she was forced to ask people to email her rather than call after her “ten-inbox-voicemail would repeatedly be full of surrender requests.”
This spike in pet surrenders across the province resulted in both heartbreak and overloaded shelters. Read the full story here.
Photo by Zoe Choy
afulton@cjournal.ca zchoy@cjournal.ca
The editor responsible for this article is Brandon Tucker and can be contacted at btucker@cjournal.ca