Anyone looking to adopt a pet from the Humane Society won’t have to wait as long any more, as they’re headed back to the pre-pandemic practice of same-day adoptions.
Victoria Baby, the Chief Executive Officer of the Kitchener Waterloo Stratford Perth Humane Society, said it was standard practice prior to COVID for pets in their care to get adopted out the same day people came to meet them. Once the health regulations tightened, things moved online and became more protracted - now, it’s back to the good old days.
“We still ask that people who are adopting dogs and who already have a dog at home bring that pet with them for a face-to-face meeting at the shelter to see if they’re going to get along,” Baby said. “We also encourage people to make sure all their family members come along to meet their new pet and make sure it’s going to be a good fit for everyone in the home. But same-day adoptions were the norm before the pandemic hit, so this is us getting back to that now.”
Baby said all of the society’s animals that are up for adoption are listed on their website, and with 179 currently being sheltered they have their work cut out for them to make sure they all find their forever home.
“The less time an animal spends in the shelter, the better off they’re going to be,” she said. “It can be difficult on an animal the longer they spend in our care, and our primary goal remains finding a loving home for every animal we’ve got with us.”
To that end, Baby said there are some incentivized adoption fees to make it more appealing for people to consider older animals. Fees range from $50 for small animals, $325 for cats, $400 for older dogs and $700 for puppies up to a year. All animals adopted out by the society have been either spayed or neutered, and Baby said that while they are all sent to their new homes with a clean bill of health it is still encouraged to take your new pet to your vet to begin that relationship early on.
It all comes back to making sure the animals are well cared for and find a loving home.
“It’s always nice to see animals go home with someone on a first visit - it’s great for the people and for the animal,” she said. “But there is still the option of seeing who we have with us online or in foster care - meet and greets can be arranged for both.”
Since the start of 2024, the KWSP Humane Society has adopted out 678 cats, 229 dogs and 116 small animals.Baby also mentioned the society recently launched a capital campaign to help raise $6 million to help build a new community outreach centre. People interested in helping with that campaign can find more information on their website at www.kwsphumane.ca.
