Animal shelter urges animals be spayed, neutered

By Rob Vogt
The Claresholm Animal Rescue Society is urging animal owners to have their pets spayed and neutered because the Claresholm shelter and shelters across the province have reached their limits.
Lorraine Norgard, chair of CAReS, said the Claresholm shelter is four dogs over its limit, and even had to put one dog in a cat room and put the cats in a different room.
She said a nearby shelter, where the community’s bylaw enforcement officer quit, has room for three dogs and is 12 over its limit.
Norgard said she receives requests every day to take in animals, and is turning down one or two dogs a day.
“People continue to want to breed and breed and breed,” she said. “They’ve got to be spaying and neutering.”
In reality, she noted, ideally everyone needs to stop breeding for a year for shelters to catch up.
She said instead of buying a dog or cat, she invites people to adopt a dog or cat.
Instead, she continued, sometimes people will go get a barn cat and let it breed.
The shelter has many cats available and, for $175, they can have a cat who has been spayed or neutered, has all its shots, been de-wormed, and any other issues taken care of.
“It’s a healthy cat when you get it,” Norgard said.
They also have many dogs available and, for $350, they can have a dog who has been spayed or neutered, has all its shots, and is healthy.
“A lot of them are nice dogs and cats,” Norgard said. “They just need a home.”
She added if you visit any animal rescue facility, they are begging every day for anyone to take something.
All have waiting lists, and the foster homes are full too.
Some have become kill shelters, but Norgard emphasizes Claresholm will never become a kill shelter.
She also appreciates everything the community has done.
“We are very blessed we get support from the Town of Claresholm,” she said. “They are very good to us.”
She commends the town’s bylaw enforcement officer who helps out CAReS.
Stray dogs are brought in to the shelter. Many have chips or tattoos implanted, but Norgard has observed the chips are not registered. In fact, two-thirds of the chips sold are never registered to a person.
In many cases, if the animal has been transferred to a new owner, the accompanying information on the new owner has not been transferred with it.
Norgard encourages people to contact the veterinarian when they give an animal away so the vet knows who the new owner is. CAReS can also transfer the information to a new owner.
The shelter has a group of committed volunteers as well.
“We have amazing volunteers,” Norgard said.
The shelter also receives good support from the two veterinary clinics in town as well as three out-of-town clinics.
One thing the shelter does not have is physical space. There is no place for it to physically expand to.
“Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t,” Norgard said.
The Claresholm Animal Rescue Society is always welcoming volunteers who are dedicated and reliable.
Applications are on the website at claresholmcares.org or in person at the shelter at 4110 – Third Street East.
Once an application is filled out, a meet and greet is scheduled for the prospective volunteer.
“Our community supports CAReS very well,” Norgard said. “Without them, we couldn’t do it.”
Anyone interested in more information can contact the Claresholm Animal Rescue Society at 403-625-5370.