Animal Welfare Grant Helps Raise Additional Funds for BC SPCA’s Abbotsford Branch (Updated)

The Mary Wakefield Animal Welfare Grant program was established in honour of the late Mary Wakefield who had a special place in her heart for small animals, always caring for stray cats and rescuing Dachshunds. In her estate, Mrs. Wakefield donated over $235,000 to the Abbotsford Community Foundation to establish the Mary Victoria Wakefield Animal Welfare Fund, where the income is used to support local animal welfare agencies. Since the fund was established, it has distributed over $67,000 to various animal welfare organizations including Canadian Animal Rescue & Extended Shelter Society (CARES Cat Shelter), Circle F Horse Rescue Society, Elizabeth’s Wildlife Center Society, Fraser Valley Humane Society, Horse Protection Society of BC, Langley Animal Protection Society, Senior Animals in Need Today Society, and the Salvation Army Cascade Community Church.
Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Abbotsford BC SPCA reached out to the Abbotsford Community Foundation for emergency funding from the Mary Wakefield Animal Welfare fund. When contacted with this request, the fund representatives were pleased to provide an emergency grant. The SPCA used the funds in a matching program to encourage individual donations on May 5th for #GivingTuesdayNow. This promise helped inspire local animal lovers to give $4,455 in just 24 hours, well over the initial fundraising goal of $3,000.
Here is the heart warming update we received from the Abbotsford BC SPCA recently about how they put the funds to good use:
Since restricting access to our facilities to the public in mid-March until the beginning of October, we have distributed over 32,000 kg of food and supplies through our pet food banks around the province. We have provided 11,696 dogs with one week’s worth of food and 9,463 cats with one week’s worth of food around the province, sometimes driving up to three hours from our nearest facility to deliver food and supplies to remote communities.
In the community of Abbotsford specifically, we have provided 482 dogs with one week’s worth of food and 51 cats with one week’s food since the beginning of the pandemic.
In recent years, the BC SPCA has seen an increase in the number of animals entering our shelters who require complex medical care. When an animal arrives needing urgent or extraordinary care, the costs often go above and beyond our budget. We could not be more grateful that the Abbotsford Community Foundation made such a generous donation that allowed us to help abused and neglected animals like Alfred who came to our Abbotsford branch as a stray. We suspect he was hit by a car causing damage to his front leg and broken teeth. After a few weeks in a foster home, the vet decided that amputating Alfred’s front leg was the best option.

Alfred (pictured above, post surgery) made a full recovery and we won’t let his missing leg stop him. Thankfully Alfred was able to find his forever home and now lives pain free.
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Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the BC SPCA has been operating as an essential service, providing sheltering, emergency veterinary care and adoption for animals, investigations into complaints of suspected animal abuse and neglect, online learning programs for youth and expanded pet food banks and other outreach services for pet guardians impacted by the crisis. These extra funds will help the BC SPCA continue to do the important work of protecting and caring for animals right here in Abbotsford.
For more information about the Mary Wakefield Animal Welfare Grant program, click here.