By Lucas Taylor
The New Year is a great time to think about adopting a pet. A cat, dog, bird or lizard is a great addition to any family. However, it can be a daunting task to find a place you trust to get your newest family member. When adopting a new pet, it’s important to do so from a place that ensures the animals in their care are healthy.
The following is a list of places where you can responsibly adopt a pet.
Calgary Humane Society
Heelix loves the outdoors and is looking for a rural or farm home to call his own. https://t.co/fVi0EQYFQB #WoofWoofWednesday #yychumane pic.twitter.com/CE9BtwF1L0
— CalgaryHumaneSociety (@CalgaryHumane) January 18, 2017
Founded in 1922, the Calgary Humane Society shelters thousands of homeless animals each year. Not only do they house cats and dogs, but the Human Society also rescues small mammals like hamsters and rabbits, birds like parakeets and pigeons, and even reptiles like lizards and snakes.
Oops-a- Dazy
Oops-a- Dazy Rescue and Sanctuary Society has an interesting history to say the least. Several years ago, it started as a pot-bellied pig rescue by a family passionate about animals. Over the years it has grown into a full-fledged animal rescue run entirely by volunteers. Now, it runs as a dog and cat rescue with an online adoption process.
NCGL – Northwest Canadian Greyhound League
The Northwest Canadian Greyhound League is an organization dedicated to finding homes for retired racing greyhounds. Their volunteers are passionate and if you go to any of their meet-and- greet events you will see that their dogs are mild tempered and well behaved.
AARCS – Alberta Animal Rescue Crew
The Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society is a local organization that strongly advocates responsible pet ownership. Every cat or dog adopted through AARCS is up to date on their shots and has been spayed or neutered. The adoption process takes place entirely online, and the people at AARCS take a personal interest in the wellbeing of the animals in their care. They can be reached at aarcs.ca
ARF – Animal Rescue Foundation of Alberta
The Animal Rescue Foundation of Alberta is another fantastic place to adopt a cat. Amazingly, ARF does not operate a permanent shelter, and instead houses their rescued animals with “foster parents”. Thanks to this, ARF members are personally invested in finding perfect match homes for their animals. Like AARCS, their adoption process is online.
They can be reached at arf.ab.ca
SAGA – Southern Alberta Greyhound Association
The Southern Alberta Greyhound Association is another organization passionate about finding homes for retired racing greyhounds, but they also encourage people to learn about these dogs through meet-and- greet events where they discuss proper care and common misconceptions. SAGA works with organizations in the United States to bring retired race dogs to Alberta to find loving homes as family pets.
Pisces Pet Emporium
Shepherd. One of the @ARFAlberta cats that has found their forever home in January! pic.twitter.com/HkIyloKzAV
— Pisces Pet Emporium (@Pisces_pets) January 18, 2017
This local pet store is candy land for anyone interested in pets. While cats and dogs aren’t available (most reputable pet stores choose not to sell them), Pisces is an ideal place to buy your pet essentials, and bring home a bird, reptile, small mammal, and even fish of both the fresh and saltwater variety. While you’re there, make sure you check out their floor-to- ceiling waterfall fountain and massive koi pond, as well as their impressive aviary and marmoset enclosure.
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