Peterborough Humane Society rehomed 66 animals from Cavan Monaghan last year.
At the June 23rd Council meeting, Peterborough Humane Society Executive Director Shawn Morey presented an overview of the services this organization provides to Cavan Monaghan.
A lot has changed since the founding of the organization in1941 when it began as a volunteer animal rescue operation. It has evolved into a full-service organization providing animal care, shelter, education and community support for residents and their pets. It is the largest animal shelter in Peterborough County.
The most notable change was the launch of a state-of-the-art Animal Care Centre in 2023. The organization’s mission is to provide “the voice for animals through community outreach, humane education, and adoption; to keep animals and humans together through enhanced care and support and to reduce pet overpopulation by providing accessible spay and neutering services.”
All animals in their care receive veterinary care, vaccinations, and microchips and are spayed/neutered prior to being adopted. PHS does not receive any government or institutional funding for operations and relies on generous donations from the community.
The organization also provides contracted services to municipalities in Peterborough County, including Cavan Monaghan. These include receiving animals captured by our municipal animal control officer, arranging for the adoption of stray animals in their care, providing reasonably-priced spay and neuter services and wellness clinics, humane education and outreach pro-grams and emergency animal support services.
Morey indicated that last year 58 stray animals were relinquished to the facility from Cavan Monaghan, including 47 cats and twelve dogs, along with eight surrenders for rehoming. All have been placed in permanent homes. He noted that the demand for stray services required by Cavan Monaghan is relatively low and he attributes that in part to the effectiveness of our Animal Control Officer, Deb Haig.
Stray animals that arrive at the Humane Society would have been found running at large outside the property of its owner and not under the control of someone else. Residents who find strays are encouraged to contact our Animal Control Officer rather than trying to control an unknown animal. Ms. Haig is quite effective at locating owners of stray animals, as many are regular offenders. Even without the benefit of dog tag information, she is often able to locate dog owners by matching descriptions and locations with local dog license records: that black lab wandering down Morton Line likely belongs to…. If no owner is located, the animal is delivered to the Peterborough Humane Society. Upon arrival, stray animals receive a thorough health check and are vaccinated. If they have not already been neutered, this will be the next step before the animal is offered up for adoption.
The facility provided neutering services to 312 animals from the municipality. The cost of these services depend on the animal size and whether its male or female: female surgery is more complicated and therefore more expensive. The Humane Society neutering rates are subsidized, ranging from $135 to $265 for cats and from$345 to $600 for dogs. The going rate at private clinics can rise to $1200 for dogs.
The organization also provided wellness clinic services for 75 animal owners where their pets received vaccines, flea and tick treatments and diagnostics.
For these services, the municipality pays an annual fee of $12,000.