Calgary Humane Society calls for more dog adoptions, kennels full for more than a week

The Calgary Humane Society is calling for more dog adoptions as it grapples with capacity issues. 

The animal shelter says its dog kennels have been full for more than a week. Anna-Lee Fitzsimmons, director of public relations at the Calgary Humane Society, says the shelter has been leaning on placing dogs in foster care as it struggles to maintain space for the animals.

"The best thing that we can see happen right now is an increase in adoptions, which allows us to obviously place these animals into long-term homes and then free up space in our shelter so that we can continue to intake the dogs that are on our waitlist," she said.

In the past week, 12 dogs were adopted from the non-profit organization. Fitzsimmons says while the shelter is processing dog adoptions as efficiently as it can, it hasn't been able to meaningfully reduce its waitlist.

"Every time we get one dog adopted, there's two more at our door that need to come in and take its place," she said, adding there are usually 27 dogs at the shelter available for adoption.

"Right now we just can't seem to get ahead of the problem... There is never an empty kennel."

The Calgary Humane Society cares for about 45 dogs at any given time, including those that aren't yet ready to be adopted.

An additional 25 to 40 dogs are placed in foster care to help alleviate capacity issues at the shelter, and there are dozens of dogs on the waitlist to come into the facility.

Fitzsimmons says some dogs need surgery, behavioural intervention or a different type of care before they can be listed for adoption. 

The shelter is also tackling its capacity problem through its "sleepover" program, which allows people thinking of adopting a dog to bring one home for up to a week.

"If there is somebody, or a family, who's maybe considering adopting, but perhaps they're not quite sure if it would fit into their lifestyle or they're just a little bit nervous to take the plunge and actually sign an adoption contract, they would be welcome to participate," Fitzsimmons says.

Typically the program would only apply to dogs that have been available for adoption for more than 30 days, but given the shelter's capacity problem, it's permitting potential adopters any available dog for the trial period.

"The sleepover program is completely free of charge," Fitzsimmons says. "We give you all the supplies you need for that animal to be successful.

"Obviously you have to be approved for that and there is a contract involved, but we give you the animal for a week, no strings attached, no formal commitment and cost-free so you can see if it's a good fit for your family and decide if it's something you want to commit to long-term."