Bow Valley SPCA has made a pitch to Banff town council for $5,000 in funding to help with operating costs for the no-kill adoption facility for dogs and cats.
At its meeting Monday (Feb. 28), council asked the Bow Valley SPCA to re-submit its request for funding in time for the 2012 budget deliberations later this year.
Canmore council has already kicked in $10,000 and the MD of Bighorn will be asked to contribute $5,000 at its next meeting on March 8.
SPCA officials say they are dependent on financial support from the municipalities in order to be sustainable and remain open to benefit the region.
Joseph Potts, an SPCA director, said services include care and adoption of surrendered dogs and cats, education for schools and a spay/neuter program for low-income residents.
“About 20 per cent of dogs last year came from Banff and about 10 per cent of the cats – and that is a significant number in terms of the cost for our facility,” he said.
In 2010, approximately 10 of the 51 rescued dogs that ended up in Bow Valley SPCA were from Banff and about 10 of the 100 rescued cats were from Banff.
They accept surrendered pets from Banff through Banff Veterinary Services and, as a result, they say bylaw is not burdened beyond 72 hours with the care and feeding of stray and abandoned cats and dogs.
When funds are available, the SPCA also provides low-cost spay and neuter programs for low income workers in Banff, assuring there are no unwanted dog and cat pregnancies.
The group’s funds have helped 12 families, leading to 13 dogs and cats being spayed or neutered in 2010. PetSmart Charities have funded this program for 2011.
Potts said there are many times when people just bring their animals directly to the SPCA facility in Canmore.
“We will take that animal in that condition because we don’t want them to release the animal into town and bylaw has to go get the animal, hold it for three days and bring it to us,” he said.
“First, that seems cruel to the animals and secondly, it is unnecessarily costly and troublesome to bylaw. We provide a way for people to manage their unwanted animal without abandoning it.”
