Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society reaches capacity for rescued animals and pauses admission – Calgary

Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society’s kennels are full after the organization saw an influx of animals over the past two weeks.

“We only reopened our doors two weeks ago and there has only been an influx of animals, and once again we are at the maximum capacity of what we can currently supply,” said AARCS executive director Deanna Thompson.

Thompson said the number of pets given up isn’t the only reason AARCS is sitting at maximum capacity.

“The lack of available veterinary care is tough,” Thompson said, noting that’s another factor. “We had to outsource some of our care to local clinics, so getting these animals ready for adoption was a bit slower.”

An influx of large litters of pets has also compounded the problem.

“We had a couple of big boxes of animals coming in, so we recently took in 35 cats from a family whose keeper passed away,” Thompson said.

She noted that there is a solution to bringing those numbers back down so AARCS can start taking animals again.

“Nursing homes are key right now,” Thompson said.

“The key to saving lives right now is having people who can take care of these animals temporarily, and that’s been a really big struggle for us right now.”

AARCS only relies on foster homes to care for animals while they await homes, but with COVID restrictions gone and summer is here, people are heading on vacations and Thompson said that find it difficult to find these temporary helpers.

“Even puppies that are usually taken out of foster care very quickly are sitting here waiting for someone to come and house them temporarily until we can find them new homes,” she said.

Thompson hopes the freeze will only last about a week, but added that it all depends on how many animals they may be able to place in foster homes in the near future.

For information about AARCS or how you can help, click here.

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