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Iris, Battlefords Humane Society's longest resident. (Image Credit: Battlefords Humane Society/ Facebook)
508 days in the shelter

Battlefords Humane Society’s longest resident finds a home

Sep 14, 2026 | 1:31 PM

After 508 days at the Battlefords Humane Society, Iris has finally traded shelter life for a place to call home.

The young pit bull was brought to the shelter by North Battleford’s Community Safety Officers on April 22, 2025.

“We never had anyone come forward,” said manager Emma Groff. “She came in at approximately a year old. Usually at that age, we do get like, ‘I saw this dog here’ or, ‘my friend owns this dog,’ but we never got that with her.”


(Image Credit: Battlefords Humane Society/ Facebook)

For more than a year, Iris never experienced life outside the shelter, not even through an adoption trial. So staff decided to give her a little extra attention, posting photos of her on social media every day in hopes of finding the right person.

The posts brought plenty of attention, including donations and people who stopped by simply to spend time with her. But serious adoption inquiries remained few.

That changed when Craig came to meet Iris.

“Basically he took her on a walk, played outside a little bit and then was like, ‘yeah, we’re taking her,’” Groff said. “It was quite easy, honestly; he has no other animals, it’s an acreage. So we have some pretty high hopes!”

Iris was adopted Friday, ending her long stay at the shelter.

Groff believes there are a couple of reasons Iris experienced such a long wait.

“There is still that stigma, unfortunately,” Groff said. “Additionally, she is reactive to other dogs, and she has a prey drive. So the number of homes she was actually able to live in was very limited.”


(Image Credit: Battlefords Humane Society/ Facebook)

But for the staff who got to know her, Iris was much more than those challenges.

“She is just amazing. She is super loving, but not very explicitly,” Groff said. “She’s quite energetic. She is very motivated specifically by tennis balls.”

Now, after more than 500 days of waiting, Iris has a yard to explore, a new person to bond with and hopefully, plenty of tennis balls to chase.

Alyssa.rudolph@pattisonmedia.com