Society receives support to keep operations alive

By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor

Tears of joy rolled down the cheeks of Happy Cat Sanctuary Society of Alberta’s co-founders Michelle Shave and Barb Stefanich at last week’s council meeting, when local officials dipped into the town’s savings and threw their support and thousands of dollars in financial backing behind Strathmore’s only locally-based animal rescue.
After town council reached out to the society inquiring on their needs to continue operations at the end of last year, the society and town staff collaborated on a proposal which council voted on unanimously on May 2, to sign a three-year contract providing assistance and enabling the society to continue programs and expand its services.
For years the rescue has been bursting at the seams as the rate of feral and stray cats within Strathmore and surrounding areas continued to climb. With more than 1,400 cats and kittens being re-homed since the rescue was established in 2003, the members have dedicated hundreds of volunteer hours, surrendered their homes and garages to board over 50 cats, and doled out thousands of personal expenditures to provide shelter, food and medical care to deal with Strathmore’s feline overpopulation.
As a result, the efforts provided relief and reduced stresses on municipal and bylaw enforcement, saved the town the equivalent of a full-time employee’s salary, and pushed the problem out of the community’s sight and out of mind.
However, individual donations, fundraisers, business donations, PetSmart charity grants, and casino money came up short in continuing to sustain the rescue long-term, prompting the town to commit to a three-year funding model with $33,000 each year. While the town was originally asked to consider investing $50,000 annually, the society assured council members the allotted amount would cover veterinary bills, food, litter and turn the vision of a much-needed storefront adoption centre into a reality.
“We’re really excited and tremendously grateful for the support from the Town of Strathmore,” read a statement from the Happy Cat Sanctuary Society to the Strathmore Times.
“Having worked so hard in our community for over 15 years, this was a special moment for the volunteers of Happy Cat. With the funding now in place we can continue our important programs and services in Strathmore.”
The volunteers at the society added that more exciting news will be made public in the near future.
Having been in operations for 15 years, the society also branched out into Wheatland County communities – Gleichen, Carseland and Hussar – and received much-needed support and care at a reduced rate from Sevick Veterinary Services, Falconridge Animal Hospital, the Animal Care Center of Strathmore, and Strathmore Veterinary Clinic who worked together providing strays with free examinations and treatment.
The society has also relied on a handful of foster families and several volunteers, and initiated the Trap Neuter and Release (TNR) and Rescue and Adopt programs. While the programs aided in reducing the number of kittens being born to strays, an estimated 50 to 70 fertile feral cats are currently roaming Strathmore’s streets. The rescue also hopes to kick-start a Surrender and Adoption program to re-home cats before pet owners abandon them on the streets thus increasing the stray population.
This year the Happy Cat Sanctuary Society’s target is to take in 60 cats and kittens and 20 cats solely in the Surrender and Adoption program.
Council’s decision on May 2, followed a presentation by the society on April 11.
“It’s stunning to me to see these numbers, to see 1,400 over 15 years, so approximately 93 cats per year, and thinking about how we’ve been able to sit back and do nothing because (they’ve) been doing it all,” said Councillor Peterson after last month’s presentation, and spoke about the financial impact at the May 2 council meeting.
“We’ve been very fortunate with competencies in staff and in town that several thousand dollars have been saved in some of our contract. So I think putting some of those savings into this out of financial stabilization is a great thing.”
Other councillors and town staff also expressed their appreciation, and Councillor Jason Montgomery suggested offering community members a chance to donate to the society when renewing their cat license with the town.
Mayor Pat Fule was also impressed with the society’s presentation previously and their success in tackling the problem.
“There’s a lot of things that go into making a town a healthy and safe place and one of them is the control and care for animals like this and the very fact that I didn’t notice there was a problem in town and (the society) has been doing all this work for all these years shows what (they’ve) been successful with a shoe-string budget and really dealt with this problem, so I’m very appreciative of what (they’ve) done for the town.”
Council agreed unanimously to provide project funding by January 31 of each year with $22,000 starting May 1 in 2018, $33,000 each year for 2019 and 2020, and $11,000 for 2021 until March 31. Council also requested the society visit council once a year for an update. As far as a location for the storefront adoption centre, the society is keeping their lips sealed, but is already posting sneak peaks online. Check out their Facebook page, Happy Cat Sanctuary Society of Alberta, for further clues.