A local hospital reached out to refer the client, Mildred, so that she could get care for her cat, Frank. Mildred had moved into a hospital for an assessment to see if she was able to continue living independently. In the interim, Frank was left alone in her house with no one to provide care.
Unfortunately, due to Mildred’s condition, we were not able to obtain any accurate information about Frank and the information we did have led to more questions than answers. We were not sure how old Frank was, additionally he had a microchip without owner information attached to it. Due to her medical issues, Mildred was a bit confused and stated she had found Frank as a stray recently. After many hours of searching we were finally able to locate the veterinary clinic the client accessed for Frank and gained a clear picture of his prior health. Frank has been a very beloved companion of Mildred for over 12 years, it was clear that she was in fact Frank’s only owner and she had ensured he always received the best care.
Mildred was eventually able to move back into her own home. Upon Frank’s arrival back home an individual from our partner agency helped her out by moving things around to make the home and caring for Frank easier. This case had service workers from multiple different agencies working on many different levels to ensure that Mildred and Frank had the best outcome possible.
This story is not unique.
When in crisis, pet owners are often unable to focus on their own mental and physical wellbeing until they know that their companion animal will be safe. The Crisis Care Program provides reprieve to pet owners dealing with a life-changing event that impedes on their ability to care for their companion animal(s).
The Alberta SPCA’s Crisis Care Program was launched in 2019. This program is designed for individuals that have run out of safe options, it is a last resort program for individuals experiencing crisis and are unable to care for their animals temporarily.
Refuge should be available to everyone.