what we do

Brex is carried to safety after his rescue.

The humane animal rescue team (hart) is a non-profit organization committed to:

• rescuing stray, abandoned, and unwanted dogs from rural areas (including First Nations) surrounding Edmonton, Alberta and placing them in permanent homes;
• providing programs that promote responsible pet ownership, and prevent cruelty to animals; and
• promoting spay and neuter initiatives that reduce the number of unwanted litters.

hart volunteers work with community liasons to gain the trust of stray dogs.

Established by a group of dog lovers in 2003, hart received a Certificate of Incorporation under the Alberta Societies Act on November 12, 2003 and qualified as a Registered Charity on December 7, 2005. Our Registered Charity number is (#86666-1408 RR-0001). 

A community dog recieves a hug from a hart volunteer.

 We strive to keep our operating costs low, allowing us to assist more dogs. Therefore, we rely entirely on the generosity, skills, and compassion of a volunteer network to:

• provide foster care, socialization, and basic training to prepare rescued dogs for adoption;
• coordinate the adoption of rescued dogs through a matching process of the dog's needs to lifestyles and personalities of adopters;
• administer medical assistance to rescued dogs;
• respond to calls for dogs in need by traveling to rural locations to perform rescues;
• provide food to field volunteers for the dogs who cannot yet be rescued;
• prepare and deliver outreach programs and initiatives that promote responsible pet ownership;
• raise funds to support hart activities; and
• build awareness about hart and about the overpopulation problem.

Once rescued, hart dogs are fostered by loving families until adoption.

hart does not operate out of a facility; instead, we rely on a network of foster homes, volunteers who open their homes and hearts to a rescued animal until a permanent home is found. Supplies such as leashes, collars, toys, dishes, food, treats, and crates are provided to our foster homes.

A loving, safe and lifelong home is the goal in hart's re-homing efforts. A multi-step adoption process is followed to ensure the best match possible between the needs of the dog and the lifestyle of the potential adopters. Many of hart's adoptable dogs have been rescued from harsh situations and are therefore adopted out as companion animals to be loved and protected for the rest of their lives. The time we take in the adoption process and the fact that we visit each potential adoptive home is unique to our organization.

The reward for hart volunteers is always the same: wagging tails and wet noses when lonely, scared or sick dogs are transformed into happy and healthy companions. 

A group of community dogs waiting for food.