Homeless or abused animals in the Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Parkland County and Edmonton area may end up in the Edmonton Humane Society shelter or the Parkland County Animal Shelter, but only if they are lucky enough to be rescued by somebody. Recently, my wife, daughter and I became involved with another option.

Hart, or the Humane Animal Rescue Team, is an Edmonton-based non-profit organization committed to rescuing stray, abandoned and unwanted dogs from rural areas around Edmonton and finding them permanent homes. Through this organization, my family’s home has become a temporary home for a few of the dogs rescued by this group, and it has been a rewarding experience!

From the hart website:

“…we rely entirely on the generosity, skills, and compassion of a volunteer network to:
• provide foster care, socialization, and basic training to prepare rescued dogs for adoption;
• coordinate the adoption of rescued dogs through a matching process of the dog’s needs to lifestyles and personalities of adopters;
• administer medical assistance to rescued dogs;
• respond to calls for dogs in need by traveling to rural locations to perform rescues;
• provide food to field volunteers for the dogs who cannot yet be rescued;
• prepare and deliver outreach programs and initiatives that promote responsible pet ownership;
• raise funds to support hart activities; and
• build awareness about hart and about the overpopulation problem.

“hart does not operate out of a facility; instead, we rely on a network of foster homes, volunteers who open their homes and hearts to a rescued animal until a permanent home is found. Supplies such as leashes, collars, toys, dishes, food, treats, and crates are provided to our foster homes.

“A loving, safe and lifelong home is the goal in hart‘s re-homing efforts. A multi-step adoption process is followed to ensure the best match possible between the needs of the dog and the lifestyle of the potential adopters. Many of hart‘s adoptable dogs have been rescued from harsh situations and are therefore adopted out as companion animals to be loved and protected for the rest of their lives. The time we take in the adoption process and the fact that we visit each potential adoptive home is unique to our organization.

“Despite the initiative, the reward for hart volunteers is always the same: wagging tails and wet noses when lonely, scared or sick dogs are transformed into happy and healthy companions.”

Anyone who loves dogs and is able to devote some time and space in their home to helping a dog become adoptable might want to consider getting involved with hart’s foster program. Fostering can take many forms and is very customizable to personal circumstances. You can designate the age of dog you’re comfortable with (young puppies up to 6 months, young adult dogs aged 6 months to 1 year, or adult dogs), as well as the size and gender of dog. Hart welcomes people who can accommodate dogs in all kinds of special situations: mothers and their newborn pups, high energy dogs, low energy dogs, bonded pairs, or dogs with medical or behavioral issues. Hart also needs temporary homes, vacation homes, and emergency homes. Commitment can range from full time till adoption to various short term stays from under one month, up to 3 months and so on.

As mentioned above, there is no cost commitment since hart supplies everything needed by the dog in your care, and the hart foster team is always available for support.  Fostering is a great way to have a companion animal in your life on a temporary basis, maybe allowing you the chance to decide if you are ready to make a life-long commitment.

Other opportunities for fostering animals:

Many of the organizations that rescue abandoned animals operate through foster homes rather than housing the rescued animals in a central facility. Here are a few of them in our area:

Edmonton Humane Society (dogs, cats, rabbits, birds), 780-491-3513

Second Chance Animal Rescue Society (SCARS), (dogs), Edmonton and Athabasca

Northern Alberta Society for Animal Protection (NASAP), Sherwood Park

Why foster? Because everybody needs a home!

I love to hear your questions or comments. Call or text me at 780-910-9669, email me at barry@barryt.ca, or contact me here.

Tags: Pets