Do you love dogs but don’t have a schedule that allows you to adopt one into your home and life?
Peace Regional SPCA has come up with an idea to allow people to spend quality one-on-one time with a canine companion but then return them to the shelter at the end of the day.
A Dog Day Out allows people to spend quality time with one of the many dogs at the shelter, giving the pup a much-needed break from the four walls of the facility.
“It’s a cool new idea that we saw another shelter was doing,” explains SPCA Manager Breanne Cowie. “We do have some regular people who come dog walking, but it’s always good to draw new people in with new ideas.”
Cowie explains that since they moved to the current location on the west side of Peace River, they’ve seen a substantial decrease in their volunteer base, specifically in the dog walking because the facility is not in an ideal dog walking area.
“The idea is to help cater to the people who would like to take the dog in their car to go somewhere different for a walk,” says Cowie. “If that person would like to take the dog for a full day or we have even had people take dogs for the whole weekend, it allows them to do that. We actually have a dog right now who went on a road trip to Jasper with someone and they’re spending five days hiking in the mountains.”
Cowie says the team is very excited about the pup getting to experience a week in the mountains, getting plenty of exercise and love from the volunteer.
“There’s a lot of people who would but aren’t able to have pets because of where they live or the type of career that they have,” she explains. “We’ve had police officers come in that just can’t have a dog of their own based on the demands of their job.”
Cowie says A Dog Day Out allows people to have quality time with a dog, something that dog owners know helps to reduce stress and improve the quality of one’s life.
“We provide you with a list of areas around town that are dog friendly and any supplies you may need,” Cowie says. “We’ve got little backpacks made up with bandanas advertising the dog is available for adoption, and we send you with treats, water, water bowls, and all the other things you will need for the day.”
Cowie says most notably it gives the dogs a chance to have a much-needed break from the rescue.
“We have a lot of long-time residents that this is their life and all they’ve known for months,” says Cowie. “It’s really awesome for them to get out and see the world. In turn, the time out also makes them more adoptable.”
Cowie says the day out allows the pup to get out all the pent-up energy and the chance to spend one-on-one time with a person. She explains that staff at the rescue are so busy and they do their very best to give all the animals adequate attention, but with so many animals at the rescue it is difficult to give extensive time to each animal.
“If you’re someone who can’t really have a dog of your own or commit long-term, it’s a really cool opportunity for you to get that animal connection,” she says. “We do also offer a trial period for people who are considering adoption. It allows someone to spend time with the animal on a trial basis, before filling out all the adoption papers, to take the dog home and actually see how they do in your house.”
Cowie urges interested adopters or people in the community who would like some time with a dog to come in and take a dog for the day or the weekend.
“People love that our shelter gives these opportunities to them without have to 100 percent commit to adoption,” she explains. “It’s really helped to streamline our adoptions, people don’t feel a lot of pressure, and they know that because the dogs get one-on-one experiences like this they will be a lot different once they get adopted.”
There are currently 17 dogs in the Peace Regional SPCA shelter and Cowie says she hopes people will consider A Dog Day Out program to give them each a chance to spend time outside and in nature.
She says that there are constantly additional people wanting to surrender, but their facility is currently at maximum capacity for dogs and puppies.
At the moment the shelter is very low on puppy and kitten food, cleaning supplies and many other items. They ask everyone to consider donating any items that they can.
If you would like to take the opportunity to participate in A Dog Day Out or would like to donate to the shelter, stop in daily between noon and 5 pm or call the shelter at 780-624-3633 for more information.
Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter