In an effort to target the pet overpopulation crisis, a local pet store will partner with the Edmonton Humane Society and only carry cats and dogs for adoption through rescue groups.
On Monday, Paradise Pet Centre owner Lorne Terrault announced the partnership at his store on St. Albert Trail. For the last 30 years, Paradise Pet Centre has carried cats and dogs purchased from local residents, as well as a few select breeders.
“We became much more aware of the fact that there is a huge overpopulation problem and we wanted to be part of the solution,” Terrault said.
Several months ago, he approached the humane society to see if they were interested in a partnership.
“We said, wonderful, except you’re selling puppies and kittens in your store and we do not support that in any way, shape or form,” recalled Shawna Randolph, a spokesperson with Edmonton Humane Society.
Randolph said the society believes animals should not be sold in pet stores and that a responsible breeder ensures their animals go directly to a good home. The organization notes many pet stores sell animals that originate from puppy mills without even being aware of it.
Humane society executive director Stephanie McDonald said the number of unwanted pets in the Capital region reached an all-time high last year.
“It’s the most extreme we’ve ever seen. The shelter admitted just short of 13,000 animals within our community, and that’s just our surrounding areas,” she said, adding that the humane society does admit some animals from northern Alberta.
McDonald said the large number of animals sold online through websites like Kijiji is only adding to the problem since most are not spayed or neutered before being sold.
There also is a concern with the high number of premium or designer breeds, she said.
“They’ll take really cute [dogs], like a shih tzu and a pug and mix them together and they really get shaken up genetically and they’re usually really a nightmare for a lot of owners in terms of what they’re going to own but they look really cute in a window,” she said.
McDonald said there is often a danger of people purchasing an animal without giving serious thought to owning a pet.
“A lot of times you’re going to come into a pet store and you’re going to see how cute that animal is and you’re going to want to bring it home,” she said.
“It needs to be a responsible decision so ideally by adopting from a rescue group or from a humane society, we’re going to make sure a person has asked themselves the questions that they need to.”
In partnering with the humane society , McDonald said Terrault showed “extreme leadership and a lot of courage.”
“We really want people to shop here now because he’s willing to help with the pet population problem,” she said.
According to the Edmonton Humane Society, Canadians spend about $6 billion dollars a year on their pets, a figure that suggests pet stores don’t have to sell animals to make a profit.
Unlike animals sold online or in pet stores, adopted animals come with a value-added package that includes spay/neuter surgery, microchipping, pet insurance, pet licensing and more.
Staff at St. Albert’s Tudor Glen Veterinary Hospital have donated their services to help care for animals put out for adoption.
“Right now we do pre-adoption checks,” said owner/veterinarian Tammy Wilde. “We check over the animals, if vaccinations are required, we do de-worming, we consult with them on any health care issue. We try to keep a very open communication and just answer any questions that they have.”
Terrault said more than 40 cats have found homes since he began adopting felines seven months ago. The store is currently adopting cats on behalf of the Barrhead Animal Rescue Society and recently began adopting dogs from the Humane Animal Rescue Team.
All proceeds from each animal adoption goes back to the rescue groups.
“Hopefully we’re two parts of the solution. Paradise Pet Centre and then the rescue groups or the [Edmonton Humane Society],” Terrault said.
“And we need the third part and that’s the prospective pet owner to hopefully come in and adopt a cat or a dog and find them a loving home.”
