(AlyssaRudolph/battlefordsNOW)

By Alyssa Rudolph

shelter at capacity

New building, same struggle: Battlefords Humane Society fears winter overcrowding despite expanded shelter”

Oct 29, 2025 | 5:11 PM

As winter creeps closer, Battlefords Humane Society fears they will not have enough room to take in more animals.

In July, the shelter opened a brand-new building to provide more space for animals and staff. The new building was designed to offer upgraded ventilation and separate rooms for isolating animals.

Laurel Fauth, Board Treasurer for the Battleford Humane Society, said many issues have been resolved with the upgraded location.

“It’s bigger, it’s cleaner, it’s nowhere near being condemned. The medical, the ventilation and the health of the animals was our biggest focus here. Being able to hold more [animals] and have a nicer facility,” said Fauth.

At capacity the old shelter could hold 80 animals and now there is room for roughly 130, but even with more space, the shelter remains at capacity. Extra space in the building that was originally designated for sick animals has now been overtaken mainly by ready-to-adopt cats.

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“People are pretty good at keeping their dogs at home and in their yards. It’s just a thing that people do, let their cats out and just expect them to come back. Lots of times they do, but lots of times they don’t,” she said.

Recently the shelter has been forced to turn away stray animals due to the lack of space. Ideally kennel spaces would hold one or two cats but right now those numbers are doubled. The Humane Society fears that because of this, if one animal gets sick it could easily be spread throughout the shelter. Fauth encourages the public to consider adopting an animal to help ease the situation.

Fundraisers

The shelter continues to rely on the public’s help with donations. Animal food, blankets, towels and cash can all be dropped off at the Humane Society.

“We have two major fundraisers every year, our gala and our golf tournament. And those are our biggest fundraisers that help us keep staff employed and keep animals fed and keep the doors open,” said Fauth.

This year’s golf tournament was the most successful yet with a record turn out raising the shelter roughly $250,000 dollars. Further information on the upcoming gala will be released closer to the date.

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alyssarudolph@pattisonmedia.com