PAL Program Information

Prevent Another Litter (PAL) Program

The most critical issue facing pets in Alberta today is finding enough permanent, loving homes for them all.  Pet overpopulation is a tragic problem.  Each and every year, shelters and rescue groups in Alberta admit hundreds of thousands of companion animals, and countless others are offered in newspapers and online as “free to a good home”.  It’s not hard to figure out that there are simply not enough homes to be found.

Many people who breed their pets believe they aren't adding to the pet overpopulation problem if they find good homes for all their puppies or kittens.  But consider this:

When people have babies, they usually have only one baby at a time.  When dogs and cats have babies, they usually have litters of between two and six puppies and kittens!

By age five, a female dog and her female offspring can produce 192 puppies (assuming two females per litter and two litters per year).  And this doesn't include all of the offspring produced by her male puppies.

Humans simply do not reproduce at these outrageous rates.  Nor does every human born want a puppy. This adds up to a great deal of unwanted puppies and dogs in our community.

The Edmonton Humane Society (EHS) admits close to 11,000 animals each year, over 70% of those animals are not spayed or neutered when they come to us. That means that over 7,000 of the animals that come through our doors every year may have added to this serious problem. Through adoptions, education programs and ensuring that all of our adoptable dogs, cats, puppies, kittens, rabbits, ferrets, and even some of the guinea pigs are spayed or neutered before finding homes in our community, the EHS is offering proactive solutions to this pet overpopulation crisis, but there is so much more to be done.

The EHS and the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association (AB.VMA) have teamed up to launch the Prevent Another Litter (PAL) program aimed at dramatically reducing our community’s homeless pet population through offering financial assistance for families that do not have the means to spay or neuter their animals and offering an incentive to those families who simply have not gotten around to altering their animals.

Through this cooperative partnership we hope that at least 1,000 animals in our community will be prevented from having unwanted offspring during this pilot program.  The PAL program is being piloted for the months of July, August and September 2010, and is limited to dogs and cats only.  While it is equally important to have both species spayed and neutered, the sad reality is that there are far more homeless cats in our community than dogs, thus there are more places for cats in the PAL program than dogs.

Be a part of the solution to the pet overpopulation crisis. Book an appointment before your pet has their first or second litter. For the health of your pets. For the thousands of animals who don’t have homes. Prevent another litter, TODAY!

Pets Spayed/Neutered During our Trial Period (July-Sept):

The PAL Program is a joint initiative of:

We thank our generous sponsors for this program:

Participating veterinary clinics donating the surgeries:

Donating microchipping:

Donating vaccinations:

Distributing vaccinations at no charge:

Financial assistance

Incentives

Benefits of spaying or neutering

Sponsors and participating veterinary clinics

Frequently asked questions

Marketing materials