Meet the Ontario SPCA, a Pet Valu 
Companions for Change™ supported charity

The Ontario SPCA never wants to see a pet separated from their pet parent due to financial difficulties, so much of their animal welfare work is geared towards keeping pets with their families. “We strive to keep pets and their families together by offering a variety of community support services, including emergency sheltering, food distribution, humane education, animal advocacy, spay/neuter, and wellness services,” says the organization’s Chief Veterinary Officer Stephanie Black.  “We're not a government agency. So we rely heavily on the generosity of donors to continue the work that we do.” Like many animal welfare organizations, the Ontario SPCA is currently seeing more and more pet families face economic challenges.  “Our goal is to try to prevent unnecessary re-homing,” says Black. “So we work with pet food banks to ensure that people can still feed their pets and we offer spay/neuter services through our brick and mortar clinics, as well as our SPCA mobile animal wellness services unit. That was actually made possible in 2019 and 2023 thanks to Pet Valu Companions For Change sponsorships.” The mobile unit offers exams, spay-neuter procedures, and life-saving vaccinations to pets in remote or underserviced areas of the province whose families wouldn’t otherwise be able to access key veterinary services.  Overall, the mission of the mobile unit and its staff is to be there to support pet parents in their time of need, whether that entails preventative or urgent care.  “We had a cat that came to the unit recently that was unwell,” Black recalls, saying that the owner had taken her cat to a local veterinarian and had discovered that it had a life-threatening infection in her uterus called pyometra.  “She was able to get antibiotics at the clinic,” says Black, “but she wasn't able to afford surgery. So she reached out to our team and we were able to perform the life-saving surgery that this cat needed.” The Ontario SPCA also does a great deal of work in adopting and rehoming pets in need. Pet Valu sponsors the organization’s cat cabin initiative, which supports cats while they are in the SPCA’s care and continues to do so even after they’ve been adopted.  “What these are, are cardboard box houses that have cute designs on them,” Black explains.  “They act as a safe haven for cats in our shelters. These cabins enable cats to express their natural behaviours — things like perching, hiding, and scent marking — making them happier and healthier cats. Then, when the cat is adopted, the same cat cabin transforms into a carrier. Once home, the adopters are encouraged to reassemble it into a cabin to ease that cat’s transition into their new home by providing them something that has scents that they're used to and surroundings that they're comfortable with.”  It’s projects like these that help the Ontario SPCA realize their goal of creating a brighter future for animals. “Our main priorities,” says Black, “are to ensure the best possible care for animals that are within our centres, to advocate for animal welfare across Ontario and beyond, and to continue to keep pets and their families together.”