A local animal rescue is sounding the alarm over the demand being placed on rescue groups in the province.
According to Erin Deems, the executive director of the Alix based Saving Grace Animal Society, rescues in the province are near a breaking point.
"The calls are nonstop," said Deems, in a recent interview.
"In October, our fees were over $62,000, and it's looking the same for November ... and unfortunately, adoptions are slower."
Over the Black Friday weekend, Deems says the rescue did an adoption event which saw 37 animals adopted, but that is a small amount compared to the 200 or so animals currently in the rescue's care.
Demand for animal rescue services and low adoptions are two of the issues facing Saving Grace and other rescues around the province; a lack of donations is a third.
Deems says that donations to the rescue have dropped so much that the ongoing project of the rescue building its own vet clinic has been put on pause just so they can keep up with other expenses.
"We are struggling with our budget in regards to keep rescuing and keeping our doors open to the animals that desperately need our help," said Deems.
One "saving grace" for the rescue is in the area of foster homes; Deems says that the foster homes in the rescue's networks have been allowing them to rescue and support the animals in care that they have.
"We're lucky we do have foster homes that have opened up their homes," said Deems.
While Deems recognizes that the economy is not helping the situation when it comes to donations right now, she notes there are other ways to help the rescue. She notes that the rescue's main facility in Alix is always in need of volunteers, whether it's doing laundry, walking dogs, or playing with puppies.
"Volunteering at the shelter is obviously always a struggle for us, being located in Alix," said Deems. It's a commute for a lot of people to put in their time. But, we are always open to anybody coming out and spending two or three hours."
As far as current fundraisers go, the rescue is currently working on a "Trip for transmission" to replace the transmission in the rescue's van, which puts on miles all over western Canada to pick up animals in need.
Deems says that is also the van that gets the animals to nearby clinics on spay and neuter days. She says that the rescue is getting around 40 spays and neuters done every week.
Total repairs for the van, including the transmission and some other work that needed to be done, totalled around $7,000.
The fundraiser to fund the repairs, "Trip for Transmission," is a one-week stay for two to an all-inclusive in the Dominican Republic.
Another fundraiser currently being run by the organization is a 50/50, with the pot currently sitting around $40,000, which Deems says is the largest 50/50 ever for the organization.
While the fundraising outlook is grim for the rescue, Deems says it is not stopping them from their work, or even expanding their services.
Saving Grace Animal Society started a new pilot project in early December, partnering with Calgary-based Parachutes for Pets, which will allow those without homes, or in unstable housing situations, to be able to surrender their animals temporarily while they get their feet back under them.
According to Deems, the pilot program will help prevent those without housing and unable to care for their animals from having to permanently surrender them, which can be traumatic on an individual's mental health.
Deems says that the pilot will work by either taking the animal into the rescue facility or having it placed into a short-term fostering situation, offering "a small morsel of hope" to those in unfortunate situations.
So far the program has been operating in Calgary, but the plan is to expand it to Red Deer eventually.
For more information, or to donate, check out Saving Grace Animal Society online at savinggracecanada.com.
-This story was updated to correct the name of Parachute for Pets
