Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

HELPING THE ANIMALS

Kamloops and District SPCA hoping for community support in June

Jun 11, 2021 | 4:23 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Kamloops and District branch of the B.C. SPCA is cautiously preparing to re-open to the public in the coming months. However, with kitten season underway, staff and volunteers remain busy.

For the animals under the care of the SPCA in Kamloops, the pandemic doesn’t mean much. The Community Animal Centre, on Tranquille Road, is still a busy place.

“We are in kitten season, which makes things fun because unexpected litters happen,” Sarah Lounds, Animal Care Attendant says. “We’ve had a lot of what we call large-scale animal intakes. We’ve had several properties where people have the best intentions, but all of a sudden they have 40 cats. That also has affected our numbers.”

Beyond caring for animals at the shelter, the branch also has a number of other initiatives on the go in the community.

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“We are in the midst of a cat campaign, right now,” Ashley Fontaine, Community Engagement Manager explains. “We just want to bring awareness of the cat overpopulation problem in Kamloops. Mid-June, we’re going to start seeing — we’re calling it the Unwanted Cat poster campaign all throughout Brock, downtown, and the North Shore, just to bring awareness of cat overpopulation in Kamloops.”

While all this work is important when it comes to animal welfare, it takes lots of work and money. That’s why the Kamloops branch has a couple of fundraisers on the go. The first is a Colombo Cares dinner on June 16th. The second is a new one for the local SPCA.

“It’s Lock-In for Love. It’s a provincial campaign, and this is the first year we’re doing it here in Kamloops,” Fontaine says. “In a typical year, we’d have it here at the shelter and they’d lock in a kennel here and then fundraise their way out. Because of restrictions, we’re encouraging people to get creative and Lock-in for Love at home, or at work.”

Of course, the Community Animal Centre always welcomes support in the form of donations directly to the shelter. Items like towels, sheets, cloths, and pet food are always needed — as are other cleaning products.

“Laundry detergent is one that people don’t often think of,” Lounds says. “We have two washing machines that run all day. So, high-efficiency laundry detergent and bleach.”

Donations can be dropped off in the donation bin outside the shelter entrance. For more information on the fundraising events, check out the Kamloops and District B.C. SPCA on social media, or get in touch with the shelter.