True North adopts pet-friendly policies

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

True North has officially opened their doors to pets of those who are escaping domestic violence situations.

A ribbon cutting to celebrate the change took place at the emergency shelter, May 12, which was also made open to the animal companions of those attending. 

True North officially began operating as pet friendly in March, however delayed their announcement of the program until staff were more familiarized with the new systems and how operations would change in practice.

“Going pet friendly, it has been a strategic priority for the society since probably about 2022. It has been something that was really important to us,” said Carly Cole, manager of programs and client services at True North. “We have been doing this work for over 30 years, and we knew that leaving pets behind was often a barrier for folks. We had recognized prior to us becoming pet friendly, we would have to work with survivors to either house their pets with friends or family, or in another scenario, the Calgary Humane Society offered support through their pet safekeeping program.”

Cole explained True North is aware of several other emergency shelters which have made the move to being pet friendly and effectively are following suit. 

Via a release, True North referenced a 2021 study in the Journal of Aggression and Violent Behaviour which described “pets are often threatened, harmed or killed by abusers in households with intimate partner violence.” 

In addition to maintaining a pet policy, the emergency shelter located in Strathmore now features an outdoor space which was made possible in part by the Purple Leash Project. 

“We had several meetings with other partner shelters who have been doing this work about their findings with it (and) what their recommendations were … their information and their policies and everything,” said Cole. “We really made the decision to move on this just over a year ago. Some of our staff got together and created a pets committee across our staff … who championed and spearheaded this.”

Grant funding had been provided through Women’s Shelters Canada and Nestle Purina PetCare Canada in order to proceed with the initiative. 

In addition to the outdoor space for pets, consideration also had to be made for cleaning protocols and supplies, air and furnace filtration, and protection on bedroom doors. 

The Calgary Humane Society is providing True North with behavioral assessment as well as any up-to-date vaccinations for animals coming in with outdated shots. 

“They check out the pet and make sure that their temperament is safe and they don’t have any diseases or parasites or anything and will be safe to come into the shelter,” said Cole. “Once that is complete, the pets are welcomed in here and they stay right in the room with their person staying in the shelter.”

Regarding the ongoing development of transitional housing units, consideration aims to be implemented to proceed with accommodating pets once the facility is able to begin moving people in.