Humane Society depends heavily on volunteers

Helping a pet find its forever home is hugely satisfying, according to Candace Weel, a volunteer cat adoption counsellor at Georgian Triangle Humane Society (GTHS).

Weel is on duty at GTHS Monday afternoons. Some days, she handles as many as five or six adoptions in a shift. Some days, there are none.

In 2025, a total of 1,078 – 885 cats, 193 dogs – animals were adopted through GTHS. A special holiday adoption event in December with discounted fees placed 118 cats and 18 dogs. Adoption numbers typically go up again in the spring, which is peak kitten season.

“We interface with potential adopters to make sure the home is suitable for a cat,” said Weel. “An important part of it is knowing the cats that are available for adoption. Some are not good with kids or they may have special medical needs. Older people are generally a better fit with older pets.”

She has been involved with a golden retriever dog rescue organization for some time, and joined the GTHS two years ago.

Weel said adoption counsellors must ask some tough questions such as, what would happen to the pet should the owner become ill or need to move to an assisted living facility?

Decisions on where to place cats are based solely on interviews – there are no home visits – so it’s critical that adoption counsellors ask the right questions.

“People need to think about the expense of regular check-ups and shots as well as food and flea and tick medication,” said Weel.

Those costs can add up to between $1,500 and $4,000 a year.

“A lot of people who could provide great homes just can’t afford that, so there are programs like Pet Pantry to help out where expense is a barrier,” she said.

“It can be very emotionally taxing when an animal gets placed for adoption, then surrendered again. It’s very sad.”

Weel said it takes time for an animal to settle into a new environment.

She said, “We like to allow three days to decompress. Three weeks to learn the routines of the house and three months to fully come out of their shells.”

Shy animals often get overlooked, said Weel. People are drawn to the animals that seem to choose them.

Karen Marsh, GTHS’ executive director, said volunteers are absolutely essential to the operation.

“We currently have between 380 and 390 volunteers helping with everything from caring for animals to delivering pet food for the Pet Pantry program, to snow removal and cleaning,” said Marsh. “We have retirees who are looking for a way to give back, youth who are fulfilling their volunteer hour requirements, and people with full-time jobs who come and help out on the weekend. All together, they equate to about $800,000 in annual payroll costs if we had to rely on paid staff to fill all of these roles”

She said there is always a need for more volunteers.

“We will need to fill 600 volunteer positions before we move to our new facility in the spring of 2027,” said Marsh. “Anyone interested should go to our website at GTHS.ca and click on ‘Join our Team’ to fill out an application. Currently we are actively recruiting for people to foster pets, assist with education and outreach and fill board positions.”

The GTHS is open for adoptions daily from noon to 4 p.m. at 549 10th Line, Collingwood.

The typical cost to adopt an adult cat is $185, including spaying and/ or neutering, vaccinations, flea and worm treatment. Kitten adoptions cost $240.