Bear Valley Rescue – Rural Crisis Assistance

The Cause

In situations of personal crisis or inability to cope, people in rural areas needing help with their animals, particularly with horses and other livestock, have limited options because there are few facilities either prepared or able to assist with large animals. We would like to expand our program of assisting rural people in these situations to include more rural and First Nations communities. The companion animals of rural families are often livestock such as horses. In instances of strife such a divorce, death or illness, or loss of income, helping people manage the care of their livestock, and offering a safe haven to these animals, helps greatly to alleviate some of the stress the families may be facing. In order to broaden our reach to more communities we need to increase both awareness of our programs and our ability to respond to urgent requests for assistance as they arise.

Who Will it Benefit?

Bear Valley Rescue Society is Canada's first equine sanctuary to be verified by Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, meaning we meet high standards of animal care and sustainability. Across Alberta, we help people who need to surrender their animals in cases of personal tragedy. We work with the RCMP, Livestock Identification Services, and Alberta SPCA in instances of animal neglect, along with Calgary Humane Society, AARCS, and other animal rescue groups. In addition to housing animals on-site we are supported by a network of foster homes in the rural community. We have made contacts in several First Nations communities already and are now being contacted by them in cases requiring assistance with large animal surrenders.