The housing shortage in Estevan just got worse.
Spring means something different for everyone. For farmers and gardeners, it means seeding and planting. For homeowners, it means window washing and airing out a house. For retailers, it means new inventory focused on warmer weather. For those who are intimately involved with the Estevan Humane Society's animal shelter, it means a huge increase in cat and dog populations.
It also means staff and management are contemplating a real problem since the shelter is already full to overflowing with rescued and relinquished animals.
Marlene Moore, president of the Humane Society's board of directors, said there has been some recent success in cat and kitten adoptions that have lowered their numbers from around 60 to the current count of 39, but that's still a lot.
The dog population is a big worry, though.
"We averaged six dogs a week over winter, and that's not bad, but now we're just filled and we're expecting even more," said Moore.
On March 14 there were 11 dogs in the regular kennels and one more in the quarantined sector plus two being held in the impound area for the City with the hopes that they would soon be claimed by owners.
"One dog is going out to a foster home for awhile and we have a one mother and five puppies being fostered now too. They'll have to come back to the shelter soon, but we should be able to have them adopted out soon, they're small dogs," said Moore.
The society steadfastly maintains a no euthanization policy for canines and have only put down one dog in the past four years and that was due to extenuating circumstances.
Judy Martin, the shelter manager, noted they have one old Australian sheep dog that is probably unadoptable, so it gets special attention.
"She's blind in one eye, she's deaf and she's old. She gets the run of the place because she's gentle and has come such a long way in recovery. She's just a nice old girl, but we haven't really promoted her as adoptable even though she'd make a good pet for someone, I'm sure," she said.
The society continues to speak to prospective owners and tries to ensure that the potential owner and dog are a good fit because they hate having to see a dog come back. They also hate to see abandoned dogs left on their doorstep overnight, especially in the winter.
"We have a real good variety," said Moore with a laugh. "Bigger dogs are sometimes harder to place in homes, but the ones we have now don't have any major behavioural problems. In fact sometimes the small ones can be more difficult."
The society's president went on to say that so far, staffing at the shelter has not been an issue with Martin being in charge of a staff of two part-time employees as well as a couple of students who are paid plus a good number of volunteers who can help out with exercising the dogs on weekends or certain times of the day.
"Sometimes the cats and kittens can become more work because there is no extra room and we have to keep the pens clean. It can be a challenge and has been a challenge since last spring because of the floods. We had some damage to our building and we're still replacing some flooring and tiles. My husband did some of that work. Right now we need some welding assistance. It would be great if we could find a donor for that. It's just a matter of fixing up some hinges on the doors. The water and the rust got to them last year," said Moore.
"We have some hyperactive dogs here," said Martin. "But they're all friendly, we have one though, that is having to learn to adjust. He's not ready yet and we have him separate from the others for now."
Other dogs, like Dozer, the active beagle, that was abandoned/relinquished about three weeks ago, is pretty typical of what is available. He got out of his kennel for a photo opportunity and immediately put his nose into action, as beagles are required to do ... scanning the front reception area from corner to corner before agreeing to climb up on a couch for the picture.
"We know there will be the usual spring rush, so we'll need the volunteers more than ever, we need to make some space. We can always use more cat food and litter and some big dog treats or toys like chew bones. Our big dogs can get bored on occasion and having something they could play with relieves that situation. We have a good team of dog walkers. I'm sure we could always use more on a volunteer basis," said Martin.
But right now, the kennels are full and there aren't any more rooms to be booked without doubling and tripling up the canine populations.
Anyone interested in adoption or volunteering is invited to phone the society at 634-3444.
