Skylar Plourde, says with fewer animals at the shelter, it’s easier to manage approximately 20 cats and five dogs. Photo by Timothy Purkis. 

The Lethbridge Animal Shelter is at its lowest intake rate since the pandemic swept the world in 2020. The animals aren’t there for as long as they used to be. The typical time use to be around 35 days, it has now been reduced to an average of 12 days before an animal is adopted. 

Skylar Plourde, director of services at Community Animal Services says in 2026, there’s been a drop off over the last six years. 

“This year so far, we’ve seen a decline in the number of intakes compared to the years sort of following the whole COVID situation,” said Plourde. 

Plourde also mentioned there’s been a huge change in responsible pet ownership. In Lethbridge, a major reason for why there’s less animals coming in is because pet owners are taking better care of their animals. He also believes there’s a better message being sent to animal owners about responsibility. 

“When everybody wanted a pet, by late 2022 they were old enough to start having their own puppies and kittens. Because veterinary care was harder to access at that time, we are starting to see a second generation of COVID pets as sort of the end of that. The COVID pets; puppies and kittens are now adults, but we’re seeing more people are getting them fixed and microchipped and registered and all that kind of stuff,” said Plourde. 

Another reason as to why Lethbridge has a lower intake rate compared to most of Alberta is because of the city’s population. According to charityintellegince.ca, Shelters like the Calgary and Edmonton Humane Society and Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society average 4,000 – 8,000 plus animals this year. While the lowest are shelters like Bow Valley SPCA and Hinton & District SPCA are annually taking anywhere between 10 – 200 animals this year. Plourde also believes the work the organization is doing also plays a major role in that. 

“We are a city, but even our surrounding area is not as populated, as say the surrounding area of Calgary or Edmonton or any other major city. We hope that it’s our new animal care and control regulations that are kind of getting the message across that ‘you need to take care of your animals.’ The city does support a lot of assistance programs for people with pets, like the subsidized spay neuter program. There’s some grant funding for animal rescue groups. So hopefully a lot of that stuff combined is just helping keep pets where they’re supposed to be, which is at home,” stated Plourde. 

Because of the lower number of animals the shelter has these days, it has made things easier on everyone who works at the shelter. Kaia Atwood, an employee of Community Animal Services says the lower intake has made her job easier and it’s easier on the animals in the shelter as well.

“It’s been better because we can provide more care to the animals that we do have and they’re less stimulated by other barking or other meowing . So, it helps them remain calm and we can spend more time with each and every one of them,” said Atwood.

Plourde also agrees with what Atwood said about it being better for the animals. He also mentioned that when it comes to the lower intake, he doesn’t need to hire as many employees compared to the times when the Shelter is full of animals.

“With lower general intake, we don’t have to staff as high. So, there’s a bit of a cost savings there too,” said Plourde. 

To book an appointment for potentially adopting a cat or dog, visit communityanimalservices.ca or call (403) 320-4099. The Lethbridge Animal Shelter is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. 

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