The team at One Family Welfare were contacted by a very concerned mother after her son had been hospitalized for a month. Jackson, her son, had spent the past month in a mental health facility after experiencing an extended fragile state. Jackson had been diagnosed with schizophrenia a couple years ago but was not willing to accept any treatment for his condition. Unfortunately things for Jackson got very bad, and they also got bad for his two cats, Max and Oliver.
Jackson was placed into hospital against his will, his mother was able to find a friend who could take Max and Oliver to their home on a very short term basis while Jackson got the help he needed. After spending a month in hospital, Jackson realized his needs were greater than he anticipated and chose to remain in hospital for an extended time to receive the care he needed.
Max and Oliver entered the Crisis Care Program and spent two months in the program while Jackson received treatment. After multiple check-ins and discussions Jackson ultimately decided that he would not be able to continue to care for Max and Oliver long-term and made the difficult decision to surrender them to our program.
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.