Calgary animal charity will honour dog who died in hot car in new ‘Landing Pad’

In the wake of the heartbreaking death of a dog in Calgary’s southeast on July 1, a local pet charity is pushing ahead an initiative to create a safe space for people to leave their pets.

Calgary police say four-year-old Alaskan Malamute, German Shepard crossbreed Lucky, died on Canada Day after her owner, 30-year-old Kaitlyn Rose Folkins, left her in a vehicle on Mount Copper Green SE for more than two hours.

Folkins is now facing one count of causing damage or injury to an animal and one count of causing an animal to be in distress.

“My heart is broken for Lucky, a four-year old Alaskan Malamute/German Shepherd mix who was left alone for hours in a car in plus 20-degree weather earlier this month and tragically lost her life,” said Melissa David, Founder & Executive Director at Parachutes for Pets, a Calgary charity focused on removing barriers to pet ownership.

“There are absolutely no circumstances in which an animal should be left alone in these high temperatures, and our entire team at Parachutes is committed to ensuring that Lucky’s death will not be in vain.”

The charity says ‘The Landing Pad brought to you by Parachutes for Pets’ has been in the works since early this year and would offer temporary animal safekeeping to people in the community who need help during emergencies like apartment fires or floods, people undergoing medical procedures with planned recovery times, and the unhoused during inclement weather or while working.

Parachutes for Pets (PFP) says the facility will be located in Ogden and will be able to accomodate 60 animals at any given time.

“The need in this city is so high right now and we cannot stand by and allow a single other pet to lose their life because they were left out in inclement weather with nowhere to go,” David said.

She says Lucky will be remembered in the new initiative.

“In our Pet Advocacy Center we have a rainbow bridge painted so we can memorialize our pets who have passed on, and we will be adding Lucky to the wall as soon as we are able so that she will always be remembered,” David said. “But now more than ever, we desperately need Calgarians to step up and help us finish funding The Landing Pad so that we can be the difference makers between life and death.”

The first kennel at the Ogden location will also be named in Lucky’s honour.

The expansion initiative is part of the Wagz & Weegs safekeeping and wellness program, created in partnership with Calgary Flames defenceman Mackenzie Weegar.

“I am very sorry to learn of Lucky’s passing,” said Weegar and his fiancée, Maggie. “Stories like this make you realize the impact that Weegs & Wagz can have in preventing these situations. I am happy to support the expansion of the program and add 60 more spaces to help accommodate the increased demand, and make sure pets like Lucky aren’t left with nowhere to go in emergency situations.”

Though fundraising has been ongoing for many months, Parachute for Pets says it is now committed to opening the space as soon as possible.

On Friday, it launched the Landing Pad Acceleration Fund to cross the fundraising finish line ahead of the anticipated opening mid-August. The goal is to raise $50,000 between now and then to support the project.

PFP says any amount above $50,000 raised will go back into programming at the charity’s safekeeping locations.

David says the cost of living crisis has prompted an increase in demand for PFP’s services, including the Warming and Cooling Space at the Pet Advocacy Centre near Chinook.

“We knew that if we were to truly live our commitment of keeping families together and removing barriers to pet ownership, we needed to expand our safekeeping offerings—and fast—and this incident has shown us just how badly it’s needed,” she said.

PFP currently runs a 24/7 Angel Team, in partnership with other Calgary-based response units, which is dedicated to responding to emergencies involving pets in the city.

The Angel Team can be reached at all hours of the day at (368) 999-6460 or via email at angelteam@parachutesforpets.com.

If you or your animal are in immediate danger, please first call 911.