For some, Valentine’s Day is a time of love, but for the Prince Albert SPCA, it’s a day to dunk on an ex.

The animal shelter launched a unique fundraiser this February. Donors could pay to have a name of a former partner written on a slip of paper, which was then mixed in to one of the shelter’s litter boxes.

On their Facebook page, the SPCA has coined the initiative “Take a #2 on your former #1”.

“We thought it would be a fun idea because Valentine’s Day isn’t for everybody,” said Adoptions Manager Laura Goodwin.

The idea for the fundraiser came to the shelter by scouring social media.

“[Our shelter manager] is on a lot of different humane society pages throughout North America,” said Goodwin. “She found the idea in the southern states and they were really successful.

“It’s a fun fundraiser. Nobody around here has really heard of it before.”

Goodwin said the Prince Albert SPCA didn’t have a fundraising goal in mind with this initiative and that they simply wanted to see how it went.

“We got a few donations, but not as many as we thought we would,” said Goodwin. “We only had about eight or nine people donate, but we raised probably about $200.”

Goodwin said that this money will go towards veterinary bills for shelter animals.

Battleford’s humane society heard about Prince Albert’s Valentine’s Day fundraiser, and they reached out to see if they could run a similar campaign.

Shelter Coordinator Michelle Spark said the Battleford’s humane society decided to offer two choices. Donors could either put a name on a slip of paper for the shelter’s litter boxes or put the name of a loved one on a paw print to be displayed on the shelter’s wall.

“Not everybody out there is bitter, so we wanted to hit both sides of the spectrum,” said Spark. “We even had someone write ‘Covid’ to be pooped on.”

Donations for the Battleford’s Valentine’s Day initiative will go towards their capital fundraiser.

“Our goal is to raise $1.5 million for a two-phased project for a boarding, grooming and training facility, as well as a new shelter,” said Spark.

The capital fundraiser has amassed over $750,000.

“We’re hoping that we can start building the boarding, grooming and training facility this March or April,” said Spark.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a difficult time for both the animal shelters, so creative fundraisers have been critical to secure donations.

“We really need to be creative when fundraising nowadays with Covid,” said Goodwin. “We need pet food, kitten food, puppy food, cleaning supplies, Bounce sheets, fabric softener, dish soap, bleach, you name it.

“Monetary donations are always great as well, because we always have vet bills to pay.”

Like Prince Albert, North Battleford has had similar fundraising challenges.

“In 2020 and 2021, we lost about $600,000 each year in fundraising revenue. [The pandemic] has really hurt us,” said Spark.

The North Battleford Humane society relies on community events for fundraising opportunities, but many have been cancelled over the past two years.

“It’s been really hard to find other ways to fundraise that are as successful as in-person events. Online auctions just aren’t the same,” said Spark.

Shelters in southern Saskatchewan have also taken advantage of Valentine’s Day. The Regina Humane Society took a positive approach with their fundraiser, opting for eCards that donors can send to their loved ones. Donors in Moose Jaw were able to participate in two Valentine’s-themed fundraisers: a 50/50 raffle raised $1250, and a gift basket auction collected over $200.