The St. Paul Animal Shelter is dealing with flooding at its building west of town and has turned to the County of St. Paul for help. Heavy rain in late May and early June 2026 has left water across the region, and the shelter’s plea comes as the county is already managing widespread water problems.
This is not the first time the no-kill charity has faced a flood. In summer 2016, a rainstorm and a leaky roof swamped the old shelter. Mold took over, and the building had to be torn down. After years without a permanent home, the shelter moved into a new facility roughly 10 km west of St. Paul around 2019.
Now the same kind of heavy weather is back. The Town of St. Paul’s wastewater plant just handled 13,849 cubic metres of water in a single day, the most in its 23-year history. County Public Works Director Scott Jeffery said on June 9 that crews are dealing with many culvert repairs and water pumping throughout the municipality.
The shelter, located at 58032 Range Road 105, has been running near its limit with animals in recent years. Manager Laura Hoyt noted in August 2025 that the need for intakes was greater than ever. As a no-kill facility, the shelter cannot put animals down to free up space, so flooding that forces animals to be moved or damages the building is a serious crisis.
Money has been tight for the shelter for a long time. It relies mainly on fundraising and some Alberta government grants. In recent years, board members have asked both the Town and County of St. Paul for steady annual funding. A request for $50,000 from the town to cover things like part-time staff, food, and equipment shows the kind of help the shelter has been seeking.
With the county already stretched by the heavy rain, the shelter’s appeal for emergency help brings new urgency to those funding conversations. The shelter serves as the animal pound for the town, taking in strays picked up by the bylaw officer, so its ability to operate is a direct concern for community animal control.
Board president Anna Leskiw and other volunteers have led the shelter through years of rebuilding and tight budgets. Now, with water once again threatening the charity’s work, supporters are hoping the county will step in so the shelter can keep caring for St. Paul’s homeless animals.
