Impounded pets get walks and playtime thanks to volunteers who saved program

The City of Calgary says it will be able to salvage a program that invites volunteers to walk dogs and play with cats that are ready for adoption after being impounded.

The Positive Animal Wellness Support program — or PAWS — didn't have enough staff or volunteer support to continue.

An email sent to existing volunteers indicated the program would have to be put on hold indefinitely.

"We currently have some issues with the number of staff that we have that can actively manage the program," said chief bylaw officer Alvin Murray.

But the shelter quickly found a way to keep PAWS going.

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We have had already some volunteers within our business unit who have said that they can step up. I don't see it being much more than a couple of weeks, and we may even be able to fast track it," he said Tuesday. 

"This morning we had at least two people volunteer, which is always the first hurdle, to get the people."

The interactions are not only good for the animals, they're also good for the volunteers, said Murray.

"It's less stress on the animals while they're in the shelter, they actually get out of their cages that they're kept in," he said, adding that it makes the cats and dogs more adoptable.

"They can take the cats into these playrooms and interact with them rather than them being in their dormitories."

Murray hopes volunteers will be back walking the dogs and playing with the cats by the end of the month.

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