Several of Fort Smith’s four-legged residents are looking for new homes. Those on two legs will soon have the chance to meet them.
On May 5, the Fort Smith Animal Society (FSAS) — the community’s animal shelter — will host an adoption drive. The event, which will occur in the dog park outside the Northern Hound Supply pet store, will be the first of its kind in town.
“We’ll utilize the dog park so people can meet the dogs in a less stressful environment,” said FSAS vice-president Alana McGrath. “That’s how people sort of get to see how a dog is, and see if they have that special spark that connects them.”
“I think it’s a really good way to get the dogs’ faces out there,” added Anna Gervais, the owner of Northern Hound Supply and a volunteer with FSAS.
The FSAS kennel is currently home to about eight dogs. While it housed a whopping 27 dogs during last year’s wildfire evacuation, when many animals were left in the community to fend for themselves, eight is essentially the maximum that staff can manage.
Considering that number is likely to grow as puppies begin to arrive with the warmer spring weather, both McGrath and Gervais are hopeful residents will show up to the adoption drive and consider taking a dog home.
“I really hope people come,” said Gervais. “At the same time, there’s a lot of people who already have two or three dogs, because everybody’s a dog lover.”
The simple fact, according to McGrath, is that if people don’t start adopting dogs, FSAS may cease to exist, which would mean Fort Smith’s bylaw enforcement department would be responsible for the stray animals in town.
With that, comes “the risk of more euthanasia,” she said. “If we can try to save some of these beautiful dogs, that would be wonderful.
“If we can’t pull this off, then it will become a town problem. It will be their burden to bear, and the dogs, the animals will suffer.”
A full kennel isn’t the only problem FSAS is facing. The organization continues to struggle to find committed volunteers.
On April 25, the organization was set to host a volunteer recruitment night at the local recreation centre in hopes of tackling that problem.
“At this point in time, if we can’t build up our volunteer base, there’s a very real chance that we can’t continue,” said McGrath, who works as a nurse when she isn’t helping run the shelter. “It’s a scary position to be in.”
She said she has contacted Fort Smith’s hamlet office about the possibility of creating a single paid position at the shelter. A paid employee could “provide continuity of care to the animals” and handle other tasks, such as marketing, which has become Gervais’ department.
However, “it’s just not in the budget” for the community,” McGrath said. “We’re right back to square one.”
Much like the hamlet, finances are also a concern for the shelter.
FSAS charges a $250 fee when people adopt animals. Those fees “only just” cover the shelter’s operation costs, according to McGrath.
“It barely covers the cost of the vet care,” she said.
All of FSAS’s problems would be magnified by another evacuation, which is on many Fort Smith residents’ minds as another wildfire season begins.
McGrath, who stayed in town last summer due to her nursing duties, said she and her FSAS colleagues were barely able to manage the crisis, and they are not in a position to do so again if the problem recurs.
“Last year, this town was lucky that the handful of people left behind were able to cope with the animal situation,” she said. “There were animals left in houses, at properties that we went to, as well as the kennel. There’s no plan if that occurs again. I don’t see how that can happen again. We need people to realize that if there’s an evacuation, they need to take their animals.
“A lot of people didn’t plan to leave their animals, but didn’t have time to coordinate. Now they’ve had the winter to think about what they’re going to do, and how they’re going to manage those animals.”
There is no question it is a precarious time for FSAS. Nevertheless, in light of its volunteer recruitment efforts, and with its first adoption drive on the horizon, there is a chance things may soon improve.
“If we can find a couple of homes for these animals [on May 5], that will be a big move,” McGrath said.
