APARC channels Hat success for Airdrie expansion

After four years of giving back in Medicine Hat, Alberta Pound and Rescue Services is reaching its helping hands into Airdrie.

The Hat-based animal rescue centre jumped on an opportunity to expand its work into central Alberta when the City of Airdrie put out a request for pound services.

On April 1, APARC opened at its new location in Airdrie’s industrial area, and general manager Scott Maurice says they’ve quickly become an important facet of the community.

“Since we were established and doing so well in Medicine Hat, we figured we would tip our hat into Airdrie and we were awarded the contract,” said Maurice.

“It’s a first for Airdrie. They haven’t had a dedicated service locally run and established, so we’re quite excited to say that we are the first ones out here in Airdrie offering those services.

“We’re excited to see our two facilities working together to get animals home. We’ve already had animals that we’ve moved between the two facilities in order to facilitate adoptions.”

Maurice — an Airdrie resident who was involved in overseeing APARC’s start-up in Medicine Hat — says APARC’s success in the Gas City stems from its relationships with both the community and municipal enforcement, and those relationships seem to have traveled with them to Airdrie.

“It’s been an amazing success out there (in Medicine Hat),” he said. “From the amount of animals that come in and find their homes and get to the homes they need, to the way we operate, to our transparency and community engagement.

“We saw how successful it was in Medicine Hat, and how the community loves to take care of its furry friends, so this is where Airdrie came in. We do have a previous relationship with municipal enforcement, in a good way, especially in Medicine Hat. That relationship just found its way out here and stemmed to the local enforcement out here and it’s been a wonderful start.”

Maurice added he still hopes to hold a grand opening for the public, once social distancing measures are lifted.

“It’s quite a project. It’s been exciting and very busy, but we’re working hard to get our building complete and we’re still hoping to do our official grand opening for the public here shortly, we’re just trying to get our building prepared and our procedures set up,” he said.