Steinbach and Area Animal Rescue opens doors

It’s been a week since Steinbach and Area Animal Rescue Inc. opened its brick and mortar location. And President Michelle Neufeld couldn’t be happier as it’s been her dream for a number of years.

“It’s been quite the whirlwind. It’s been very exciting. Lots of people have come to check out the building which we’re quite happy about. We’ve had a few adoptions already in the building. It’s a little overwhelming to get into the routine of things but its definitely going well.”

Since opening, the rescue has taken in a number of animals that have been placed in foster homes. Right now, there are 25 kittens in the building that are adoptable and three kittens in the quarantine area.

The 1,600 sq-ft building has a full basement for storage and a boardroom. There are three main cat rooms with an enriched environment, staff room, reception area with merchandise, laundry room/grooming room, and quarantine room.

One of the concerns Neufeld has is the lack of spay and neutering done by pet owners.

“There’s just an over population with cats and we really need more low cost spay and neuter clinics happening, which we’re working on so keep an eye out on our webpage for that. The main thing is people need to spay and neuter. I know it’s expensive and we understand that, but if you can’t afford to do it then you shouldn’t have an animal in my opinion. That might be harsh but it’s true. Pets are not cheap.”

Only 22 percent of cats and 25 percent of dogs under a year of age are spayed or neutered. There are two million intact cats in homes in Canada and about 15 percent of Canada’s 8.5 million cats could produce unwanted kittens within the next 12 months. Spaying or neutering one cat or dog could prevent 248,832 unplanned puppies or kittens over the next five years.

“We want to start having mobile spay and neuter clinics here and even if the municipalities would provide money to us to have these spay and neuter clinics like Ste Anne did. They gave us a certain amount of money and we were able to have a spay and neuter clinic in Ste Anne. So, if more RMs would do stuff like that we would gladly take charge of it and get it organized with some of our local veterinarians,” said Neufeld.

Right now, there is an intake freeze of animals as all foster homes are full as is the new building.

“We would really love for people to step up and foster. We provide everything – food, litter – whatever the animal needs we provide they just need to provide the home.”

To adopt or foster an animal visit the rescue at 39 Keating Road or visit steinbachanimalrescue.com.