![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976926.1721883767!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
Local rescue calls need for homes 'critical'
The Second Chance Animal Rescue Society says it's caring for an unprecedented number of animals.
The rescue has 500 pets waiting to be homed. It's more than double what its facility is designed to hold.
"In the 20 plus years SCARS has been operating has been bar none the worst year we’ve ever seen," Brenda Leonard from SCARS said.
Leonard said economic pressures are a major factor driving animal surrenders.
"A shortage of vet appointments and the cost of that means there are so many litters being born," she added. "Cost of food is skyrocketing, so they have no choice but to give them up"
SCARS launched an "emergency adoption surge" Saturday, in the hopes to find 200 animals new homes or foster homes before Christmas.
“We've never seen anything like this in the two decades we’ve been operating,” Amanda Annetts from SCARS said in a press release Saturday. “Every dog and cat deserves a loving home, and we are determined to make this happen for as many of them as possible.
"We urgently need the community's help to make this Christmas a joyful one for these animals.”
SCARS said if people aren't able to adopt a new pet, donations are also needed to help care for the hundreds of animals being homed by the shelter.
To learn more about available pets or an upcoming adoption event, visit the SCARS website here.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Evan Kenny
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6977053.1721909931!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
WATCH LIVE 'Sick to my stomach': People grieve Jasper National Park by sharing favourite photos
As an out-of-control wildfire roared through Alberta’s famed Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday, many are fearing the worst as officials warned of 'significant loss' within the area.
LIVE UPDATES 'Hopefully it's better than what we're thinking': Jasper wildfire damage details anxiously awaited
Officials are waiting to learn Thursday morning the extent of wildfire damage in the Jasper townsite of Jasper National Park, which flames began to eat away at the night before.
Canadian women's soccer team staffer given suspended prison sentence over drone incident, prosecutor says
A Canada women's soccer team staffer has been given an eight-month suspended prison sentence after flying a drone to film the closed-door training session of the New Zealand team on Monday, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
Sale of envoy's NYC condo 'expected to exceed' $9M: government
The current official residence for Canada's representative in New York City is 'being readied for sale,' according to a spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada.
Jasper wildfire burns buildings, while poor air quality forces some fire crews out
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
'I'm so broke': Two Toronto women speak out after losing $76,000 in romance scam
Two women from the Toronto area are speaking out after losing thousands of dollars to a romance scam, including a single mother who lost $62,000.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Loblaw to settle class action over bread price-fixing for $500 million
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500 million to settle a pair of class-action lawsuits regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.
EXCLUSIVE One address, 76 foreign currency dealers: Inside Canada's money service business 'clusters'
An IJF and CTV News investigation has found dozens of cases across Canada where multiple money services businesses (MSBs) are incorporated at the same address, sometimes without the knowledge or consent of the location's actual occupant. One money laundering expert calls it an 'abuse of the system.'