Animal Aide of St. Thomas-Elgin

02/28/2025

This year has been challenging for many reasons, so we wanted to take a moment to share with you that all of our hard work to drive pet adoptions over the last year has truly paid off. This year we were able to finalize almost 100 more adoptions than the previous year. We’re thrilled to share that we have completed more than 250 adoptions within our partnering PetSmart stores, leading us to achieve Bronze Medal status for the Adoption Partner program.

In celebration of this achievement, we hope you will take this opportunity to celebrate our success in our common mission of saving lives through connecting pets with people who love them.

02/25/2025

Many special thank you's to the staff and those that donated to the Lauzon Veterinary Hospital National Cupcake Day fundraiser. $100's of dollars were raised in support of Animal Aide and we are very grateful for the support.

02/23/2025

This year, unlike any year in the past and because of the postal strike last fall, there is still time to make a charitable contribution until the end of February that will count on your 2024 tax return. Why should you give this serious thought? Well, not only does it make your tax burden somewhat less, it provides many opportunities for various charities to continue their work. I don't know about you but, it seems to me that our taxes go up and our services go down. These are for the most part, services that everyone pays for. With a charitable donation, you have the opportunity to direct your money to the group that you feel happy to support. In the same way that city services go down in order to keep your property taxes as low as possible, a charity also has to balance their financial situation with the amount of services they can provide. Sometimes, those charities have problems keeping up with the demand for the services they can provide.

While I do not have any experience with other charities, I do have experience with a local feline rescue in St. Thomas. I have to say that for the most part, the people of St. Thomas are amazingly supportive of our rescue. On the flip side, we constantly hear that despite the fact that we have been located in St. Thomas for over 30 years, people didn't know we were there. I assume these are the citizens that have never had a need to contact us or are seeing our growing presence on socials. People who have never looked out their patio door on a cold and snowy night only to see a small, furry, shivering body, covered with snow looking back at them. People who find abandoned pets in a cold, empty apartment. Sometimes, people do not understand that, as a charity, we also have expenses and have to balance the number of cats we have taken in with the amount of money we have to care for them. It's a delicate balance.

I have also heard people say that we should take care of the homeless people before we look at caring for homeless animals. Likely to take some heat for this but, I believe that for the amount of municipal, provincial and federal taxes we put out, that that is where the funding for the homeless should come from. For the homeless cats and dogs out there, they are homeless for no fault of their own. They are out there because people fail them, they fail by not having pets spayed or neutered, they fail them because of the "free" kitten they pick up from Kijiji with no plan about how to take care of them. They fail them by believing that their female will be a nicer pet if she has a litter of kittens or to show their kids the "miracle" if birth with no responsible plan for the kittens.

Amazingly, people assume that male and female litter mates will not be able to procreate. It happens. Sadly, for people in rescue, there are just too many examples to mention. We, as a society can do better. I would hope that we all can agree that a pet is a family member for better or worse, in sickness and in health. I would invite anyone to visit the shelter, look into those green, gold, yellow or amber eyes and say "you are not worth it".

These days, everyone wants a piece of your pie. If you are fortunate enough to have a few crumbs left over, please consider donating to a charity of your choice (but, hopefully ours. lol).

Written by Ellen Denomy
Chair of the Animal Aide Board of Directors

02/22/2025

UPDATE: ADOPTED

Cutie alert!!!

Baxter (female) - Very sweet, friendly and loves to cuddle. Would be great with kids and other pets. Loves drinking from the sink and playing in the tap water. Loves playing under the sheets, it is very hard to make a bed when she is around.

02/22/2025

02/22/2025

We are here for our community, as our community is always there for our rescue!!! With the holiday season quickly approaching we need to think of our furry friends.

Animal Aide of St. Thomas-Elgin recognizes that pets are important members of the family. And at times, we know that many families experience financial hardships, where a small helping hand can make a huge difference. We ourselves as a rescue face these same experiences at times.

We believe that no one should face the difficult decision of having to surrender their feline because they can not afford the cost of food.

Here at Animal Aide, we have decided with the small fortune of feline food we have been blessed with, that we would like to implement “Feeding Furry Friends." This will be a mini pet food bank program intended for families facing short-term financial difficulties and not for the permanent or long-term feeding of pets. We can only provide what we have until supplies are gone.

This is a judgment free program that will allow you to stop by our rescue anytime Monday-Friday 8-4pm and pick up a food donation. We can not provide litter or medical supplies. This is a food program only.

02/21/2025

We would like to take this opportunity to wish very happy belated birthdays to two of our dedicated and compassionate female volunteers. Janice is a regular weekday volunteer and Courtney is a regular Saturday volunteer. Both treat the cats with such kind genuine hearts. Please join us in celebrating these woman and all the joy that they bring in to the world.

02/21/2025

Happy National Love Your Pet Day! 🐾❤️
Today, we celebrate the unconditional love and joy our pets bring into our lives. Share a photo of your feline friend and tell us why you love them.

Let's spread the love and celebrate our beloved companions!

02/21/2025

Hello everyone! My name is Marzipan.

I am a female domestic short hair feline and currently 22 weeks old. I was 1 of 3 in my litter, when I arrived to Animal Aide. I am sweet, sassy and incredibly affectionate. I would love the opportunity to live with other felines, as I just relish with a companion. Looking for a loving home to spoil me rotten. I have been spayed, fully vaccinated and treated with pest prevention. If you are interested in meeting me, please don't hesitate to stop by the Pet Valu St Thomas and say hello.

02/21/2025

NAME: Rocky, male/neutered
CLASS: Domestic Short Hair, Black & White
AGE: 4 years and 3 months old

Currently at the St. Thomas PetSmart.

02/21/2025

NAME: Pawtrisha, female/spayed
CLASS: Domestic Short Hair, Calico
AGE: 3 years old

02/18/2025

"How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." - Winnie the Pooh

On February 14th our shelter suffered an unmeasurable loss. Animal Aide is considered a 'no-kill' shelter and for many there is an understanding of what this means. Those that work within our walls know that this means so much more. Our staff and volunteers love, cherish and provide what is sometimes considered palliative care to cats that have suffered the unimaginable.

Tinker aka Tinky is one such feline. Tinker was a feline removed from a "rescue" that did not provide the necessities of life and was shut down by Animal Welfare. Tinker was transferred to another rescue outside of town to be assessed and upon assessment it was deemed that he was fractious and in need of specialized care if there was any hope of him coming out the other side. Ashley, our Operations Manager, was asked to make a trip to meet him and several others with the same history. The moment her eyes set a gaze on Tinker, she knew he deserved so much more. Without a second thought he was making the journey back to Animal Aide to begin a new life. Tinker was angry, terrified and very uncertain of everything before him. After vet care was sought out, he was diagnosed with Feline Leukemia. Several months passed by with volunteers tirelessly working to make Tinker feel loved and safe, there was still something brewing that no one could have imagined. Before our very eyes Tinker began rapidly losing weight and was having gastric issues. Many trips to the vet, prescribed steroids and medications, changes of diet to keep him eating, still everyday was a new challenge to provide him with just a little bit more time here with those that loved him. Every day and night Tinker still managed to muster the strength to meep at Dave for wet food time or to thank his caretakers. We did everything that we could to ensure that Tinker was without pain and knew only love.

The sound of the microwave beeping to let us know that Tinkers warming disc was ready will forever ring the halls of Animal Aide. The soft pink blanket that had to be in his round shaped bed now sits empty on a shelf. Tinker each and every day fought to give as much to those that gave back to him, until his frail body had nothing left to give. On the 14th Tinker was showered with love by those that spared no expense to let him know that his time on earth was valued and important. Surrounded by Ashley, Dave and Sara, Tinker crossed the Rainbow Bridge knowing that his life mattered and though he wasn't formally adopted by a family, he had something so much more...the love of a dedicated group that came together to commemorate his life and how much he meant to all of us.

02/17/2025

Unconditional love is as close as your nearest shelter. This rang true for several families this Family Day weekend. Between the Pet Valu St Thomas Companions for Change event and the Animal Aide centre remaining open for Family Day, a total of 6 felines found their furever homes. We wish all of the families and their new felines all the best!

Congratulations to Pamona, Pepper, Pickles, Ruby, Taryn & Tommy!

02/17/2025

NAME: Marsali, female/spayed
CLASS: Domestic Medium Hair, Brown Tabby
AGE: 1 year old

Marsali is a very nervous feline. She is terrified of change and the unknown. She becomes displeased when her cage is being cleaned, as things get moved around, but once things are back to being settled she is fine. Time, patience and gentle encouragement would be best for this sweet looking feline. She would do best in home without young children.

02/17/2025

NAME: Sam, female/spayed
CLASS: Domestic Short Hair, Buff/Orange & White
AGE: 6 years and 2 months old

Currently at the St. Thomas PetSmart.

02/17/2025

NAME: Jennifer, female/spayed
CLASS: Domestic Long Hair, Orange Tabby
AGE: 3 years and 2 months old

Jennifer arrived a very sick and underweight feline. She was terrified of everyone and everything. She lashed out in fear with anything uncertain. Gradually she is making huge progress. Her hair has grown in thicker, she has started to put on weight and is softening to those that approach her with a calm presence. For more information please contact our shelter at (519)633-3788.

02/17/2025

NAME: Eartha, female/spayed
CLASS: Domestic Short Hair, Black
AGE: 6 months old

Daughter to Colie who was a true feral and once fully vetted/recovered, she was released to her caretaker. Sibling to Earl, Evie and Edison whom are already adopted.

Eartha is shy at first and would require a calm and patient home to allow her the time to adjust. She would do best in a house without young children, but would do fine with other cats. The way to this young ladies heart is through lickable churro treats.

02/17/2025

NAME: Marzipan, female/spayed
CLASS: Domestic Short Hair, Black
AGE: 21 weeks old

Sibling to Margartita.