Edmonton Humane Society brings in third party to look into cats left behind

EDMONTON – The Edmonton Humane Society says it has asked a third party to look into how three cats in the organization’s care could have been unknowingly left in a vehicle for more than three weeks.

The felines — named Magic, Lucky and Chance — went undiscovered for 22 days after a transfer from Grande Prairie, Alta., to Edmonton on March 27.

They were discovered on April 18 when humane society staff were preparing for another transfer.

The animal group did its own review into what happened, but some called that a conflict of interest and suggested there should be an independent investigation.

The society now says investigative firm IRISS Corporation will look into what happened.

It is also to recommend how to improve animal safety, staff practices and policies.

“Our non-profit organization is extremely remorseful about this incident,” humane society CEO Miranda Jordan-Smith said in a news release Friday.

“We’ve been providing compassionate and high-quality animal welfare services in our community for more than 100 years, and while incidents like this are rare, we need to learn from mistakes.”

It’s anticipated the results of the investigation will be made public later this summer.

The three cats survived. They were dehydrated and had urine burns on their feet, but were not seriously ill.

The humane society says the three cats have been adopted to homes in Calgary.

(CTV Edmonton)