From the In The Woods Animal Rescue Facebook page (photo taken by Wendy Rose)

By Emily Keller

Animals in Need

Animal rescue groups facing full shelters and more emergencies during extreme cold

Jan 17, 2020 | 12:33 PM

The recent cold snap in the Peace Region is taking its toll on animal rescue groups.

Wind chill values have brought temperatures well below minus 40 throughout this past week for much of the Peace Country.

Cheryl Bastien, Vice President of In the Woods Animal Rescue, says emergency calls and intakes have gone up during the cold snap, but volunteering has gone down.

“It’s so cold outside that they’d prefer to stay home, and we totally get that. Even simple things, like carrying water to the animals, everything becomes complicated. It’s like it’s twice as hard to do something when it’s that cold outside.”

She adds that this past December saw an intake number of around 35 for dogs and that they have already maxed that number in the first two weeks of January.

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Bastien says so far, the recent temperatures have been more extreme than in the past.

“The cold, it was a sudden snap when it came. So, any of the animals that were stray or whatever would be caught a bit unaware. And it’s not – for strays, especially – it’s not just a shelter situation that they would be looking for. Cold weather like this makes hunting for food, or foraging for food, that much more difficult.”

She says there are small shelters people can make out of containers and straw to put around their homes for strays, especially feral cats, who are less likely to approach a person. People are also asked to contact bylaw officers if they see an animal outside in extreme temperatures.

As well, In The Woods accepts donations, such as food or time. It has also put out more calls for foster homes for animals in need while the shelter is at capacity.

Bastien adds that while the extreme weather came suddenly, the support In The Woods has received from the community has gone a long way.

“Grande Prairie people have been so incredibly supportive to the rescue, they’ve just been amazing, I don’t know what we’d do without them.”