CALGARY -- The Calgary Humane Society saw a jump in adoptions last week.
Despite being closed three days for Christmas, the shelter found new homes for 62 animals in its care. Cats were the big winners in the late-December adoption lottery.
"We ended up having 39 cats, 12 rabbits, two guinea pigs, two hamsters, five dogs and two birds. So it's a nice variety," said humane society communications manager Jessica Bohrson.
The adoptions were part of the humane society’s Home for the Holiday campaign. Despite the timing and the name of the campaign, Bohrson said the humane society recommends against giving pets as gifts.
"The reason for that is because it is a lifetime commitment, adopting an animal, and you need to be fully prepared for that commitment." Bohrson said.
The humane society recommends instead that people come down to the shelter and buy a gift card.
"They'll still be surprised, they'll still know that an animal is on its way, but this allows them to come down to the shelter, meet all of our animals, and find the perfect fit for them and go from there," she said.
Bohrson said the humane society tries to make adoptions as comfortable as possible for both animals and the people adopting them.
"What we'll do is you can have a meet and greet with the animal in one of our lifestyle rooms, and get to know that animal and see if you feel that they're a good fit for you. And if you're bonding properly with them, it goes from there," said Bohrson.
If there are other anmals in the home, the humane society recommends a "dog-to-dog" meetup before bringing home a new pet.
"If you have small children, we'd like them to meet the animal as well just to make sure that it's going to be the perfect match."
The Home for the Holidays campaign launched Dec. 7 and will run through to the end of the month. During that time adoption fees are cut in half.
On its web site, the Calgary Humane Society described 2019 as an "incredibly challenging year," saying that by Sept. 30, it had taken in 3880 animals, served over 9,071 kilograms of food and performed 1,939 surgeries.
