For the first time since its inception, a local dog rescue group has had to say no to saving puppies.
CC RezQs said they’re freezing their intake of animals due to a lack of available foster homes. There are currently 38 dogs in the care of various foster families.
“To now have a cap on that, and say we can’t save any more dogs right now, it’s a very hard thing for us to admit,” CC RezQs co-founder Caillin Rodonets said.
“It breaks our hearts. We’re all losing sleep over it.”
“An organization just on the outside of Manitoba, Elkhorn… sent us a couple of requests for dogs with broken legs and we just had to say ‘you know what, this time we can’t'”, Rodonets explained.
The two-year-old group also had to decline taking in a medical case dog called in by an RCMP officer in Punnichy, Sask.
The group made a plea on Facebook asking for help housing the pups before they find a forever home.
“We just need people to apply. We need people to say ‘I’ll open up my home and I’ll provide a dog with love,'” Rodonets said.
The non-profit said the successful applicant will incur no costs of their own. The group will be providing everything needed for care, including kennels, leashes, dog food, medicine, and training if required.
Foster parents are required to care for the canine for a minimum of two weeks.
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“You’re helping a dog or a puppy that may otherwise not make it,” Rodonets said.
Laura Berry has been a foster since her coworker introduced her to the group a year ago. She acknowledged it was a big commitment, but said it has many benefits.
“Fostering is a great experience, especially if you’re looking to get an animal in your home and you’re not sure if your cats or children are good with animals, so it’s a really good experience to give puppies some love,” Berry said.
Berry admitted she “foster failed” and ended up adopting her foster pup.
“The more fosters that we have, it would be fantastic because we can help all the puppies in need and the dogs in need,” she said.
CC RezQs is not the only group facing a capacity crisis. The Regina Humane Society (RHS) said they’re seeing a spike in animals in their care this year, especially cats.
“Right now the Regina Humane Society has about 225 animals in its care,” RHS executive director Lisa Koch said.
“This is particularly high for cats this year.”
Koch said some theories surrounding the spike include the unseasonably warm winter and early spring.
“It’s allowed for early spring that’s allowed for early breeding and of course people who don’t spay and
neuter their pets gives that the opportunity to really be a runaway train,” she said.
The RHS will be partnering with SPCA’s across Saskatchewan in a first-ever province wide adoption event.
The “Empty Our Shelters” runs from August 19th – 21st. They hope to find more than 400 pets province-wide a forever home.
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