‘Incredible impact’: Regina Humane Society celebrates one year of new facility

A year of love, hope and second chances is the ongoing theme at the Regina Humane Society.

Adoptions and volunteer numbers are up, while the spread of illnesses between animals is down, that’s all thanks to the new facility — the Animal Community Centre.

“It’s had an incredible impact on the animals and the people,” said Bill Thorne, director of marketing and public relations with RHS.

Regina Humane Society’s Bill Thorne said the Animal Community Centre could be 10 times the size, but still run out of space for animals. He hopes people will come in and adopt a furry friend this month. (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)

In its first year of operation, the number of volunteers grew by 90 per cent and total volunteer hours were up 83 per cent.

The facility saw 207 more adoptions than the previous year, an increase of 11 per cent.

Puppies Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw are ready to be adopted

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According to Thorne, the old facility was “literally falling apart” and not accessible since it was located just north of the city.

It’s new location in Harbour Landing is much more accessible, it even has a transit stop right by the front door.

“People can engage with us and they can become involved as volunteers, helping out with enrichment time, spending time with the animals or office help or cleaning up the grounds,” he said.

“It’s been really wonderful to see so many new faces coming through our door to be part of what we’re doing and helping the animals.”

Ramona is around one year old. She is an American Staffordshire Terrier. (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)

Thorne hopes to see people open their homes to a new furry friend, as the number of dogs continues to grow at RHS.

“It’s just gotten worse through the winter,” he explained. “This is usually a quieter time for seeing animals come in, but we have an incredibly high number of dogs. We haven’t got enough space for them all, which is causing a problem.”

Max is just over two years old. He’s a sweet Border Collie who’s ready for his fur-ever home. (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)

Recently, there were 29 dogs available for adoption at one point. In his 10 years with RHS, Thorne said he’s never seen that many dogs available.

RHS has reduced the adoption fees this week. Adult dogs can go home for $25 and puppies for $75. Some of those fees have been sponsored by donors.

Cats and other small animals like rabbits are available, too.

Maple is roughly two years old. He was found as a stray. (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)

What to do if you find an animal in the cold

Regina is currently under a blanket of extreme cold.

Thorne urges anyone who finds an animal in distress to call the humane society.

“Please give us a call,” he said. “Call Animal Protection Services, and they’ll do their best to come out and see if we can locate that animal.”

Thorne suggests containing the animal only if it’s safe to do so. This way the RHS can pick up the animal and treat it accordingly, rather than having to look for it.

“Cats are very difficult, often by the time we get there, they’re gone. Dogs can do the same thing,” he said.

Staff do the best they can with limited resources.

“We have a limited number of officers, so we can’t respond immediately,” Thorne said.

“We will go to the most emergent cases first, and then we’ll work our way to the ones that are less emergent. But we will always try and get there. We will respond to every call that we can and try and get the animal to safety as soon as we can.”

Gryffindor and Slytherin are also ready for their fur-ever home

He said to always keep a close eye on your pet.

“Even when they’re in the backyard, when it’s that cold, they can feel those effects very, very quickly, particularly if they’re young or old,” he said.

Animals will often show signs they are cold, like lifting up their paws or shivering.

Thorne said a sweater and boots can help if you can get them on your furry friend.

“Boots will keep their paws warm and dry and also can help them avoid things like salt and things that they might encounter on the ground too that’ll often stick to their paws,” he said.

A good rule of thumb is if it’s too cold for you outdoors, your furry friend probably feels the same way.