Integrated Retail Adoption Centre reaches milestone

The partnership between Petland Red Deer and Alberta Animal Services reached an important milestone yesterday when it reached 1,000 rescued animal adoptions. 

READ MORE: Erica Coomber and Amy Pawson on Integrated Retail Adoption

The journey began in 2011 when the two organizations developed a plan to integreate retail and adoption at the Red Deer Centre. Last year, Petland funded a full-serivce adoption centre for adoptable Alberta Animal Services animals at its Red Deer location. 

READ MORE: Alberta partnership features on OSPCA Pawdcast 

Cherry, a 3-month-old brown tabby kitten, marked the milestone adoption. Her adoptee, Andrea, was sent home with a gift basket and $100 Petland gift card. 

Alberta partnership features on OSPCA Pawdcast

The partnership between Alberta Animal Services and Petland Red Deer continues to see adoption successes on many levels. And with the grand opening of an AAS Adoption Centre, located within the retail store's walls, on the horizon, success in the future is almost guaranteed. 

Amy Pawson of Petland and Erica Coomber of Alberta Animal Services sat down with Kevin MacKenzie, host of OSPCA's Animal's Voice Pawdcast last week to shed some light on the partnership and what the goals are for both organizations. 


This collaborative effort has been recognized by Urban Animal alumni throughout the years with a 2011 Summit Award for Community Collaboration as well as a nomination for a 2013 Summit Award for Sheltering. Both Amy and Erica were invited to present to Urban Animal subscribers during the 2013 Regional Innovation Showcase in Calgary and their address was nominated by their peers to showcase on a national level at the 2013 Summit for Urban Animal Strategies. 

Prairie Region leads 2013 Sheltering Nominations

Seven finalists vie for the Urban Animal Industry's highest award in the category of Sheltering:

1. Animal Welfare Agency of South Central Ontario - AWASCO (Kathy Innocente) is nominated for completing the amalgamation of the Perth and Kitchener Waterloo agencies and for increasing the live release rate.
2. British Columbia SPCA - BCSPCA (Amy Morris) is nominated for implementing their new Capacity for Care program that has increased the Live Release Rate in BCSPCA shelters to 85%.
3. Calgary Humane Society- CHS (Mark Takhar) is nominated for activities during the 2013 Southern Alberta Flood when CHS infrastructure was used as the central hub for assisting pet owners across a wide area.
4. Coquitlam Animal Shelter - CAS (Andrea McDonald) is nominated for collaborative activities that has increased the number of animals being adopted through collaborations with other municipalities, retail and vets.
5. Edmonton Humane Society - EHS (Stephanie McDonald) is nominated for creating a new shelter complex and best practices that has enriched the lives of both pets and people passing through EHS.
6. London Animal Care Centre - LACC (Kent Lattanzio) is nominated for sharing subject matter expertise across the animal care industry.
7. PetLand Red Deer (Amy Pawson) is nominated for creating a new hybrid Sheltering/Homing facility with Alberta Animal Services that includes shelter funding and using PetLand resources to adopt out 400 animals.

The Summit for Sheltering recognizes an organization that best addresses the care of animals in shelters, pounds, retail outlets, kennels, veterinary clinics/hospitals, grooming shops and breeding facilities.

The 2013 Summit for Sheltering will be presented during the Awards Gala on Friday, 18 October 2013. This event is open to the public.

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