'I could hear people yelling his name': Long-time Saskatoon SPCA resident finally gets a forever home

While the SPCA deals with a high volume of animals that need to be adopted, some clever marketing at the Santa Claus parade on the weekend resulted in a happy outcome for one family and a long-time resident of the shelter.

Erin Dymond who works in adoptions at the Saskatoon SPCA had an idea to get one of their dogs adopted by having him walk alongside staff in the parade.

“We were positive that Stanley would do so well, and he did. He was a good boy,” Dymond told CTV News.

Stanley is a one-year-old lab cross. He joined the SPCA parade, accompanied by an “Adopt Stanley” sign.

The reaction from those on the parade route was very positive.

“It was amazing. I think it was the sign. I could hear people yelling his name from the sidelines, ‘oh, longest resident,’ it was awesome,” Dymond says.

Stanley was at the SPCA since September, but thanks to this marketing idea, he’s been adopted by a family that saw him in the parade and rushed to the SPCA right after.

“They beat us here because they wanted to meet Stanley. They met a few other puppies, but they couldn’t leave without Stanley,” Dymond said.

Staff wouldn’t have been able to take just any dog into the parade, but because Stanley was so well behaved, and had a good track record, it worked.

“We have volunteers that take animals out of the shelter on day trips to give them a break so all of the volunteers who took him out in public had great things to say about him,” Sheila Gibbons, community engagement coordinator at the SPCA told CTV News.

The shelter is seeing more dogs that need homes right now, in addition to the usual high number of cats. Because of the unseasonably warm weather, they also have a lot of kittens.

“We’ve had a second wave of kitten season. Usually, it’s in the spring but be cause the weather is so nice, we’re getting a second wave,” Gibbons said.

The SPCA is changing locations at the end of December so they’re hoping to have as many of their animals adopted or fostered out as possible by the time they move.

As for Stanley, thanks to his stellar parade appearance, he’s already with his forever family.