Saskatchewan humane societies facing challenges

For some shelters, there are too many dogs, and for others, it’s the year of the cat. Saskatchewan’s animal shelters say they are stretched to their limits and struggling to meet growing demand.

Kristyn McEwen, Moose Jaw Humane Society’s executive director, said Moose Jaw’s humane society is trying to operate more like a business and less as a non-profit. It’s trying to make money where it can, by offering services and selling merchandise.

“We provide better tools for walking dogs, so we sell positive reinforcement harnesses and that kind of stuff, and we have classes you can take the dogs to in hopes that you come get a dog from us,” McEwen said.

“You’ll have a good experience walking the dog with the tool we provided, and it will make the adoption more successful. Plus we’ll make more money in the end.”

Extra money that humane societies earn will go towards helping more animals and possibly much-needed infrastructure, said Lisa Koch, Regina Humane Society’s executive director.

“Animal shelters, many of them are 20, 30, 40, 50 years old. Some of them are built in old barns or have been retro-fitted into other facilities,” Koch said. “So many people don’t understand the bio-security that’s involved in caring for high numbers of animals.”

The Regina Humane Society says it has learned the value of social media on a limited budget, and it’s hoping more shelters will adopt the trend.

“Social media and its growth in the last number of years has really been a revolution for the marketing of humane societies and other charities as well, because it can be relatively inexpensive and you can reach quite a few people,” Bill Thorn, Regina Humane Society’s director of marketing and public relations, said.

“The Regina Humane Society, for example has 34,000 followers on Facebook alone.”

Another challenge for shelters is compassion fatigue and the toll it can take on workers.

“It can impact somebody physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually,” said Erin Wasson, a clinical associate with the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. “We provide support, but if we provide support we also need to take care of ourselves because otherwise we end up fatigued.”