Pet owners who need help paying their vet bills is on the rise in the Turner Valley area this year.
High Country SPCA president Susi John said the not-for-profit organization has already doled out $10,000 this year to help cat and dog owners pay for vaccinations, surgeries and other veterinary costs compared to $8,000 in all of 2019.
John said she expects that number to reach $14,000 by the end of 2020.
“We spent over $10,000 in 2020 and we still have a few months to go yet,” said John. “That will drop our emergency fund down quite a bit.”
John said the fund is currently at around $14,000, but with the cancellation of the year’s biggest fundraiser – the annual High Country SPCA Christmas Market – it won’t be as easy to recoup those costs.
Worries surrounding COVID-19 resulted in fewer vendors willing to participate in the December event, forcing John to cancel. She said the market raises $3,000 to $4,000 a year.
Money is also raised through donations, adoption fees and other fundraisers that take part throughout the year, she said.
The rise in demand from pet owners needing assistance with veterinary costs is a trend John expects will continue the next several months due the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn.
Doctors Wayne Steiger and Gregor Hein at the Diamond Valley Veterinary Clinic have been supporting the High Country SPCA by providing surgery, vaccinations, spaying and neutering at a discounted price when needed, which has been about once or twice a week in recent months, said John.
“We see the elderly, people who lost their jobs and people on AISH (Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped) – that’s our general population,” she said. “A lot of people are out of work and need assistance.”
The High Country SPCA rescues abused and abandoned animals and provides emergency medical treatment and foster care for dogs and cats mainly in the in Black Diamond, Turner Valley, Longview and Millarville area, said John.
“We even get some people from the city because they couldn’t find anyone who could help them, but that’s not the norm,” she said. “We raise money in the Foothills so we like to help people in the Foothills.”
With the recent drop in temperature, John said more people are showing up with cats that need to be adopted out. She said it’s been several months since a dog has been surrendered.
“This is the time when it gets cold and cats show up at people’s places,” she said. “We usually adopt them out pretty quick. When they come in we vaccinate and deworm them and they’ll often be picked up the same day.”
Those that are sick are kept at the veterinary clinic until they are healthy enough to go to a new home. In instances when homes can’t be found, they’re kept at one of the four foster homes, which John said are currently empty.
“If they are healthy and ready to go I line up the pickup for pretty much the same day or the next day,” she said. “We cannot occupy too much kennel space here.”
John said finding people to adopt cats hasn’t been an issue lately, and that the organization has been waving the adoption fee for those unable to pay.
“People say, ‘We are at home and need pets around but we can’t afford the fee,’” she said. “We waved it quite a few times because we need to find good homes for these cats.”
With the organization’s biggest fundraiser cancelled, the board of directors is organizing a gift basket raffle, pet photos and pet clippings event at the Diamond Valley Veterinary Clinic on Dec. 5.
John said participants will go in one door, have the opportunity to enter raffles for around a dozen gift baskets at $5 each and can have their pets’ photograph taken and nails clipped for a donation before exiting another door.
The baskets will be displayed initially at Hard Knox Brewery in Black Diamond and on the High Country SPCA Facebook page before moving to the clinic on Dec. 5, said John, adding the winning draws will be made later that day.
“They can enter their name and number and we will mix them up and draw so everybody has a chance,” she said.
A Christmas hamper with a turkey and all the trimmings will also be raffled off.
John said donations will continue to be accepted at the clinic and a fundraising bottle drive will be held in the spring.
Those wishing to gift pet food are encouraged to donate it to the Oilfields Food Bank.
The High Country SPCA is a not-for-profit organization in Foothills County that does not fall under the umbrella of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
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