Community

Reuniting loved ones in time for Christmas

Things have been very busy for the Kelowna branch of the BCSPCA

  • The shelter took in dozens of animals
  • Many have been returned home
  • Regular operations have been disrupted

Going home for Christmas can be a very important part of the holiday season, and that goes for pets, too.

The Kelowna branch of the BC SPCA has so far been able to reunite half the animals with their owners following flooding.

It took in over 57 animals, either from families who couldn’t care for their pets given their circumstances, or overflow from other shelters.

“We’ve seen about 50 per cent of the animals that came in because of the floods already returned back to their families, which is a huge relief for them,” Branch Manager Sean Hogan told Kelowna10.

“We have a few more families to hopefully get their animals back to them before Christmas if they’re able to get things in order.”

Kelowna10 spoke with Hogan in the third week of November as they were preparing to receive dozens of animals from Quesnel and Kamloops.

Most recently, all but 14 were returned to their families.

“When everything happened, it was so sudden that some people really needed to take their time and get things sorted out. The emergency service centres, as well as the work we did, helped them have that time and space to do that,” Hogan said.

“We’re really, really pleased we’ve been able to step up and help at a time when we were needed the most really.”

Regular operations have been disrupted given the dynamic situation with COVID-19 and recent natural disasters.

As a result, they have had to institute a waiting list for many services, and appointments are required to enter the facility.

Because of the large influx of animals, the shelter recruited more foster families to help care for the extra pets short term. They’re hoping to find more homes, that don’t currently have a dog, to sign up to foster.

Published 2021-12-16 by David Hanson

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