RVP file photo

Edna Jackson is grateful for the $9,000 Alberta Community Spirit grant Crossfield's Tails to Tell Animal Rescue Shelter recently received. The money will go towards improvements to the facility.

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Crossfield animal shelter receives $9,000 provincial grant

When it comes to running an animal shelter, any kind of donated funding helps to feed, water and keep a roof over homeless animals.

So, a grant of more than $9,000 will go a long way for the Tails to Tell Animal Rescue Shelter in Crossfield. The grant comes from the Government of Alberta’s Community Spirit program.

The shelter was opened in September of 2010 by local resident Edna Jackson, who said receiving the grant means a lot to her, the volunteers and, whether they know it or not, the animals.

“We’re really glad these kind of grants exist and that we were able to receive one,” she said.

“Maybe now we can get some work done on our building, like section off a new room and build a dog run.”

Jackson said they need a separate room where they can keep animals that are sick to prevent the spread of illness. She also said they need a place where the bigger dogs can run outside.

“It’s gorgeous outside these days, so it would be great to have a dog run that’s fenced in so they can go play,” she said. “Right now we can only take them out on a leash, so they can only run as fast as we can. We want a place where they can bounce around and have fun.”

Jackson said any additional funding would be saved for the future, as they hope to one day find a new, standalone building in Airdrie.

“I think the most awesome thing about this money is that we don’t have to take it out of somewhere else,” she said.

“We need every penny to feed (the animals) and pay rent, so it’s nice to get something like this so we don’t have to rack our brains to figure out where the money is going to come from.

“It means a lot to us.”