Olds College is considering working in conjunction with the Airdrie and District Humane Society on establishing an animal shelter to be based on campus.
Dalin Bullock, chair of the school of agriculture at Olds College, said a collaboration could benefit both organizations by providing additional animals and space for veterinary tech students and provide a shelter in Olds for abandoned animals.
“There has been some preliminary discussions about possibly working together into the future in regards to being able to establish something,” he said.
The college regularly reviews major capital projects and is in the process of looking at this particular one, but Bullock said no timeline for a decision has been made.
“If a decision was made to proceed with that, then we would likely work in conjunction with … the humane society in tryin' to create somethin' that meets both a regional animal shelter need … and also be able to enhance some of the programming at Olds College,” he said.
Bullock said the college already works with several humane societies to both take abandoned animals in and give them relevant care that enhances students' learning.
“They will come in, (students) will do vaccinations, they will do treatments … and then from there we will go and adopt those animals out, and so being able to have a shelter here on campus would give us a far greater supply of animals for programming,” he said.
The collaboration would also give the college the advantage of adding further programming related to animal shelters that it hasn't hitherto had.
The shelter concept at the college would present a unique opportunity, Bullock said, creating a “complementary environment” that could benefit both organizations.
Purple Kumai, president of the ADHS, said the potential collaboration was a surprise to the society, who had a representative from Olds College speak to the board at a meeting last fall. The society subsequently received a letter of support from city council in Airdrie as requested by Olds College.
Kumai said from the perspective of the society, it would be beneficial to have a shelter in Olds to benefit from the veterinary tech program the college offers. If the collaboration came to fruition, Kumai said the society's spay and neuter programs, vaccinations and educational components to pet ownership could also get a huge boost from Olds College's involvement.
“There would be a lot of resources that we would be able to utilize if we were part of Olds College,” she said.
Kumai said a lot of details about the potential shelter — including if the humane society would be a partner — still have to be worked out.
“Our concern was that we wanted to get a facility in the corridor between Red Deer and Calgary, and if it happens to be at Olds College and it is through the Olds College program, then that is fantastic. That would mean that we would get a shelter sooner rather than later,” she said.
Kumai said if the society doesn't receive a favourable result, it will continue with fundraising efforts, which were kicked off earlier this year. The society is trying to raise $1 million and is also trying to secure some land or a building in Didsbury that the society can refurbish. It is also in the process of changing its name to the Central Alberta Humane Society to better reflect the area it serves.
"There has been some preliminary discussions about possibly working together into the future in regards to being able to establish something."Dalin BullockOlds College
