Helping to find homes
Published Thursday June 18th, 2009
Saint John Animal Rescue League has big dreams for local animals.
The Saint John Animal Rescue League is celebrating a small victory this month as 70 of its homeless cats were adopted. The non-profit shelter was bursting at the seams with 169 felines in early June and a recent call for help was answered, with 50 cats adopted in one weekend. Many of them were marked to be euthanized.
"We hit a level where we were in a crisis mode," said Executive Director Janet Foster, who is pictured in the photo to the right. "We were turning anyone away who came from outside our area with a pet to drop off because we had no room."
Since taking over as Executive Director two years ago Foster has set a new policy against euthanizing animals if at all possible. That has created the challenge of over-crowding at the shelter.
"We were quadrupling the cats in the kennels and the problem for us is with overcrowding you get the risk of disease," she said.
So when they reached a critical number of cats earlier this month she was faced with a tough decision. 20 long-term residents "" cats who had been at the shelter since last fall "" were scheduled to be euthanized on June 8 if they couldn't find homes for them. After pleading for help on June 4, all but one of the 'red dot' cats were adopted.
Thanks to the overwhelming number of cats leaving the shelter, the lone remaining long-term resident was spared and Foster is still hopeful they will find him a home.
There are now about 100 cats and kittens living at the Saint John Animal Rescue League, which has a maximum capacity of 80, with new arrivals daily. That doesn't include a number of cats being temporarily cared for in foster homes.
"When our mother cats come in and are pregnant we try to find them a home, temporarily, until the kittens are eight weeks old and they can be adopted away from the mother," said Foster. "It's much more tranquil for the cats."
When in need, the shelter often turns to Barb Gray. She has fostered several pregnant or ill pets in the past, including a pregnant cat right now.
"The problem with fostering is I can't give them back," she jokes. "Most of my dogs started as a foster for two to three days."
Gray has been fostering pets from the Saint John Animal Rescue League for about five years, and has six dogs and two cats of her own.
"I specifically take the dogs that can't be adopted otherwise, because they have aggression or medical problems.
"I really love animals, and I figure if people did the least they could do there wouldn't be any homeless animals. So, I do the least I can do."
Finding homes for so many cats, dogs and other animals that arrive in the shelter is only part of the problem. The building on Taylor Avenue in the city's North End is 46 years old and showing its age.
Hundreds of animals live out their days at the shelter in rusty cages. There is little or no access to fresh air for the cats and only a small outdoor park for the dogs, which floods every time it rains.
The dogs are kept on the ground level where the concrete floor is so riddled with holes someone could easily lose their footing. The cats are housed on the second floor, where they are huddled together at times of overcrowding, with toys and scratching posts. They climb their cages to look passersby in the eye and meow pitifully to get their attention.
With no elevators, the building is not wheelchair accessible. The main reception area is dark with old flooring and wood panelled walls. The exterior of the building is in desperate need of a paint job and the administration offices are housed separately in an old apartment building.
The old building has no air exchange system, creating a serious risk of upper respiratory infection among the animals, particularly the cats. More felines die from infection than euthanization while housed at the shelter.
"We're band aiding it as best we can," said Foster.
The solution to these problems would cost millions of dollars, $2.6 million to be exact. Foster wants to start construction on a new 15,000 square foot facility next year.
"It's no one's fault that the shelter is old," said Christine Thebeau, a volunteer at the shelter. "But certainly a new shelter would allow us to have new and better equipment to help animals with some of their issues."
Thebeau volunteers several times each week at the shelter, focusing her time on training dogs with behavioural problems, some of which have been abused.
"Right now, there are only so many things people can do as volunteers and having more room would be good. It would be nice to have a particular area we can use inside to take the dogs."
The shelter costs $800,000 each year to operate, with the only steady income being the $130,000 the city of Saint John pays for animal control. Rescue league employees are responsible for rounding up feral cats and other domestic pets left astray.
"We are a service provider, so we work for that money," Foster said.
The shelter also provides a pet crematorium.
"We have a state-of-the-art crematorium and the staff is very sensitive to the needs of the pet owner. If you have a private cremation we give you a poem and certificate, and you can have them in an urn or a little box for burial. It's an income for us and it helps us with $30,000 a year."
Most of the shelter's revenue comes from holding several fundraisers throughout the year to cover minor repairs, while feeding and caring for the animals.
"People really do care about the animals," said Foster, "and we can see that from the donations that come in."
The Saint John Animal Rescue League hopes to launch its biggest fundraiser yet by the end of this year for a new facility. Before doing so, however, the board is considering three land options, two of which have been offered up as donations.
The areas include, the new Bayside Drive on the East side, near the Lorneville Industrial Park or on Sandy Point Road over West.
"It would have to be the one that is easily accessible on a bus route because of our volunteers," Foster said, "so we have to take that into consideration."
The current facility sits on 3.3 acres of land in the centre of the province's affordable housing project. Foster is hoping for between five and 10 acres of land, away from a residential area, to provide plenty of space for the animals to roam around.
"We need a serene setting so the animals can be more tranquil."
The new facility would include a sleeping area for each dog with an electronic door to let them out to a long exercise area. At the end of the exercise area there would be another door for an outside communal park. The cats would also be provided with a large social area for playing.
"We have to build what's best for the animals because it's the animals that are most important here," said Foster.
Plans also include a store to sell Saint John Animal Rescue League products; one large reception area, with a separate area each for adoptions and the pets coming into the shelter; a pet boarding facility for vacationing owners; a training room for the dogs; and a tea room.
"We want to have a sustainable facility," said Foster. "So the more we offer the general public, the better for keeping our doors open."
Foster hopes to begin construction of the new $2.6 million animal shelter next spring.
"I know that this project will be great for the animals and great for the city."
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