Pearl Lorentzen
Lakeside Leader

“We have 60 cats,” says Dennise McIntyre, board chair of the Animal Rescue Committee of Slave Lake (ARC). “We’ve had up to 80 in the shelter and we have a few foster homes.”

The animal shelter isn’t huge, but a litter of eight kittens can fit in one cubicle, so it’s not quite as overrun as the children’s picture book: Millions of Cats.

ARC tends to have fewer dogs than cats.

As of late October, it had seven dogs ready for adoption. All of them were large breeds and adults, which are harder to place than small breeds and puppies.

With COVID-19 restrictions, people need to book an appointment to see an animal.

The adoption applications are on www.arcofsl.com. However, the most up-to-date photos are on ARC’s Facebook page.
ARC is a non-profit, and relies on donations.

In 2021, ARC plans to have a Christmas Pet Photos fundraiser again in 2021.

Before ARC had a building it did pet photos with Santa a few times, says McIntyre. Then four years ago it started up again and has done it consistently. The dates are still in the works, and there likely won’t be any Santa this year.

The ARC 2022 calendar should be available for sale mid to late November. Also, ARC accepts bottles year round and has a candle fundraiser.

People can also volunteer, but children have to be supervised by parents or guardians, says McIntyre. The volunteer application is on the website. There’s also a phone interview.