WESTLOCK – A social media plea by Westlock County helped find a new home for an abandoned dog. The dog, dropped off in the area, was in urgent need of a new home after animal local shelters, rescues and vet clinics were at full capacity.
The county is seeing an increasing trend of abandoned dogs being dropped off in Westlock County. With no shelters available within the county and neighbouring facilities at capacity, the county found themselves with limited options.
“Unfortunately, there are no shelters in the county and all the shelters outside the county were full,” said Kulbisky. “The vet clinics are full up and not accepting any strays. We were exhausted trying to find it a home.”
In a last-ditch effort, the county posted a photo of the dog on its Facebook page, hoping for a compassionate adopter to come forward.
“We did get a great response over the weekend,” said Kolbisky, adding that the dog went to a good home.
“From the response we saw, we are looking at an interim solution to this problem. If anyone is interested in potentially becoming a short-term foster owner to dogs that may be found, we strongly encourage them to contact our Enforcement Services.”
Coun. Isaac Skuban said part of the issue to the increase in stray dogs in the county is because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It’s a sad reality that during Covid-19, everyone was getting dogs. Now there are stray dogs everywhere. I have never seen so many. They are everywhere. It’s a problem we are dealing with, and I think we are doing a good job.”
In response to the growing issue of abandoned pets, Westlock County passed its Responsible Dog Ownership Bylaw in October 2024.
While the bylaw is for hamlets and subdivisions, farmers are encouraged to register their dogs.
“I want to stress to the public our dog registration of dogs on acreages and farms so we can get them home,” said Coun. Sherri Provencal.
Kulbisky said there are still county residents that haven’t registered their dogs.
“The ones that are on the farms, don’t touch those dogs. Those dogs know what they are doing. Don’t pick them up. People comment there are dogs on the side of the road. Just leave them be. They know where they are.”
The deadline to register your dog(s) for free is due by Jan. 31. The $15 dog registration fee will come into effect as of Feb. 1. Dog registration is available online or at the office for county residents. County residents can upload their dog’s photo and description onto the county website when registering them.
The social media post sparked such an outpouring of support that Kulbisky said the county is creating a registry of potential people to adopt stray dogs their bylaw officers rescue.
"The county is creating a list of potential foster families in which we can call upon should a dog require temporary placement," he said.
Please contact Westlock County at 780-307-0579 if you are interested or have any questions.
