Richard Froese
South Peace News
Big Lakes County has introduced fees for its animal care facility for people to adopt animals and surrender their own animals and pets.
At its regular meeting Jan. 24 council approved the new fees to help recover some of the costs.
Anyone wishing to get their pet from the facility will be charged a fee of $125 for dog and $75 for a cat.
Rates to adopt animals were set at $350 for a spayed female dog, $300 for a neutered male dog, $150 for a spayed female cat and $125 for a neutered male cat.
Most other shelters have fees, animal control officer Mary Brust says.
“Most people who want to adopt animals from the county are surprised we don’t have any fees,” Brust says before the fees were adopted.
The fees will be added to the fees bylaw in the coming weeks, says Pat Olansky, director of community services and planning.
“Implementing adoption fees will allow the spaying and neutering of animals to be cost neutral to the county,” Olansky says.
“Implementing animal surrender fees will help reduce the county’s cost of caring for surrendered animals.”
Before the fees, animals adopted through the county are not spayed or neutered, leaving it up to the owners to have the surgeries done, she notes.
“This prevents the county from ensuring these animals will not reproduce and add to the overpopulation issues prevalent in our community,” Olansky says.
It will also allow administration to spay or neuter selected dogs in the facility or dogs that are being adopted and prevent unwanted litters of puppies and kittens.
All animals at the animal care facility are vaccinated and dewormed, however, to prevent the risk of disease within the facility, she notes.
“The county has been operating the adoption program for more than one year and is gaining momentum in adoption of animals in our care,” Olansky says.
Big Lakes started an animal adoption program as a result of animal shelters being unable to take unclaimed animals from the county’s animal care facility due to limited capacity.
Spaying and neutering selected animals will prevent animals from giving birth in the animal care facility if they were pregnant before arriving at the facility and requiring administration to raise and rehome six to 12 more puppies or kittens, Olansky says.
Administration may have to decide to euthanize animals that have been spayed or neutered if behavioural or health issues arise or if limited capacity in the facility requires it.