Project aims to keep pets in homes
Humane Society teams with Tails of Help to assist families with financial struggles
Two local charities have joined forces to reduce the number of pets that are euthanized or given up by helping families with financial barriers pay their vet bill.
The new pilot project between the Edmonton Humane Society (EHS) and Tails of Help plans to help at least six families keep their pets in 2021. If the program is a success, the two organizations will look to extend the program.
“Veterinary bills certainly add up when there's an emergency injury or a new illness that somebody needs to treat,” said humane society CEO Liza Sunley. “It can quickly add up, and then families are faced with that really difficult choice of having to possibly surrender a pet because of that.”
The pilot program started in July and will run until the end of the year. Sunley said the humane society has already made some referrals to Tails of Help.
Anytime a surrender request is made to the humane society, they will work with the family to complete the forms needed and send them to Tails of Help, who will go through the referrals.
In the past 18 months, Sunley said, nearly 500 animals were surrendered into the humane society's care and more than 10 per cent were due to financial hardship or pet health-related reasons.
“I think even one is too many,” said Sunley. “A pet is already in the loving home. It just makes sense to me to keep that pet with their family, and we can provide that kind of support to make that happen. We're just really excited and think this program will really help.”
Sunley said the number of pet surrenders due to financial and health reasons were similar prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said they have seen a need for programs like this one for a while now and that the pilot program is testing if they have the right processes in place to address the need.
Tails of Help is coming off its busiest 12 months, serving more Albertans than ever to help keep more than 200 pets with their families, said executive director Mark Patrick.
“Part of our goal has been to keep pets with families and reduce that burden on humane societies,” he said. “EHS is the first one to partner with us to work together on directly addressing some of these cases.”
Prior to the pilot project, Tails of Help was getting the majority of its referrals from veterinary clinics throughout the province, said Patrick. He said any veterinary clinic in the province can work with them and he hopes to expand to more humane society partners down the road.
The referrals to Tails of Help will need to meet eligibility criteria and will get to choose a veterinary clinic of their choice.
Patrick said the people they serve are not just going through hard times because of the economy or because of losing their job. He said they also help people suffering from chronic illnesses or injuries that make them unable to work or are limited in their work, seniors on limited incomes and people with disabilities.
“We're limited in how much we can do by our resources, so partnering with a great agency like the EHS is a terrific way for us to expand that reach and capability to serve that need,” said Patrick.
People can donate online at edmontonhumanesociety.com/ donate or at tailsofhelp.ca to help fund the pilot program.