Meet the North Bay and District Humane Society, a Pet Valu Companions for Change™ supported charity

Since 1955, the North Bay and District Humane Society has been caring for pets and pet parents across Northern Ontario. As the largest animal-serving organization in the area, they’ve taken on a wide array of responsibilities including pet adoption services, pet food banks, hosting low-cost spaying and neutering programs, and facilitating animal transfers across the province.  Though they offer a wide array of support services, pet adoptions are at the heart of the North Bay and District Humane Society’s mission. Executive Director Liam Cullin and his team work with Pet Valu to find pets in the North Bay area their forever homes. “Pet Valu provides us with Parent Guides,” says Cullin, “they have information for new pet parents about what to expect when they're bringing a new pet into their family, so that's wonderful.”  “Education is a huge part of what we do,” he adds. “That's why we’ve launched our PAW Pals summer day camp which aims to teach children about the responsibility of pet ownership and what's really involved.  “Hopefully,” he explains, “they can bring that message home to their parents so when their parents are considering adopting, they know what to expect and how to make sure that they are getting the best possible adoption experience. For example, we make sure that everybody who adopts from us has a veterinarian and that they're able to give pets the care that they need.” The organization adopts out between 700 and 800 pets each year and one of the most impactful collaborations Pet Valu has contributed to, is the building of a new adoption centre in North Bay.  “In 2020, we began the work of building our adoption centre so we reached out to our friends at Pet Valu and through their Companions for Change program they were able to contribute $250,000 to help make that project a reality,” says Cullin.  Currently, the humane society is working to make the new, larger centre a place where animals, volunteers, and potential new pet parents can come together to have meet and greets that lead to finding ideal homes for the animals in their care. They’re also updating their previous adoption centre so that it can accommodate an expanded spay/neuter clinic and, potentially, a low-cost veterinary clinic.  “Pet Valu has been a huge support for us in every possible way,” Cullins says. “Whether it's local fundraisers that they've sponsored, or when we need things like food or litter, or when we've had puppies that are born in our care and all of a sudden we're in need of some milk or some KMR [kitten milk replacement] products to help sustain their lives. In a pinch, they're right there for us. Not only locally, but also nationally, to be able to reach out to them in times of need, they've always been there for us.”