Edmonton's Animal Care and Control Centre hosts menagerie of lost pets
Lizards, Pigs and tortoises have all passed through the centre over the years
It's not unusual to hear strange animal noises in the back rooms of the Animal Care and Control Centre (ACCC) in Edmonton.
A veritable menagerie of animals has passed through the centre over the years.
"Anything from ferrets, to guinea pigs, to birds, parakeets, ducks, goats. We get some random things," said Tanya Laughren, community relations advisor for the centre.
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The centre sees about 7,000 lost animals each year. Although the lion's share are dogs and cats, staff at the centre don't get any ruffled feathers when uncommon pets come in.
"We've had some pretty fabulous looking roosters that are full vibrant emerald colours. We've had a goat before that went to somebody's barbecue … you know as a guest and it escaped out a back fence," said Laughren.
"A lot of people think of us as just the relocation centre for dogs and cats ... but you never know what we're going to get here."
The centre has also hosted homing pigeons, pigs, snakes, and small turtles.
Most recently, the centre got an overwhelming response to a facebook post asking for help finding the family of an 11-kilogram tortoise named Torty.
Torty apparently escaped her urban backyard about a week ago. A resident found the tortoise walking down the street near the Royal Alexandra Hospital Wednesday afternoon and brought her to ACCC.
In a Facebook post update, ACCC said Torty is now at home thanks to the kindness of the concerned resident who picked her up.
Identification can be hard
Laughren said that anyone wanting to pick up their lost pet must prove ownership.
"We get reptiles, snakes, lizards, all kinds of things that wouldn't necessarily be easy to identify," she said. "We take it very seriously. We don't ever want an animal to go home to the wrong owner. These are family members … so lots of cross-checking and cross-referencing."
She also said it can be easier to identify a common domestic animal because they're usually microchipped, but that doesn't always happen with some of the more uncommon pets.
While there are bylaws requiring all dogs and cats over six months to be licensed in the city, Laughren said tortoises and some of the other exotic animals don't need a license.