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COMPASSION

The Greater Edmonton Animal Rescue Society (GEARS) was formed in 2013 to help injured, abandoned, unwanted, and homeless animals. GEARS is a non-profit organization that relies on a network of donors, volunteers and foster homes working together to give companion animals a second chance at their forever family. With high standards of practice and charitable status, GEARS sets an example in our community. Compassion motivates us to help, heal, and alleviate the pain of the animals we encounter. 

Our vision is simple: We are gearing towards a future where animals are treated with compassion and respect.

Our mission is to provide force-free compassionate care as a foster home-based animal rescue; focusing on rehabilitation and responsible rehoming.

COMMUNITY

The GEARS community started with a group of people who had shared social values centered on animal welfare. Volunteers and foster homes are the crucial links between animals in need and their warm, loving homes. The GEARS community now extends much further than our homes and neighbourhoods; it includes partner organizations, adoptive families, and Guardian Angel families.

CHANGE

GEARS strives to change all that is within our power and our power is great. Our volunteers, foster homes, fundraising, and community partners work as one. The animals we can give a second chance to change us. They bring together new families, volunteers, and donors – spreading joy and the courage to realize our vision and mission. If you’re looking for a new family member, GEARS might have one for you! Our application process is easy but thorough. We care about where our animals are going and want to give them the best chance of a successful match. We ensure all animals receive vetting including vaccinations, spays/neuter, microchip, and any other medical care they need before being cleared for adoption. GEARS is a member of the Alberta Force Free Alliance and any animal with behaviour issues will receive behaviour support before and after adoption. We also provide our adopters with a post-adoption support group so you can ask questions or share your happily ever after photos.

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Board of Directors

Karla Alsop

President & Foster Director
[email protected]

Lina Meadows

Vice President & Adoptions Director
[email protected]

Stephanie Major

Treasurer
[email protected]

Michelle Goodman

Medical Director
[email protected]

Rob Solomonson

Warehouse & Donations Director
[email protected]

Katelyn Fox

Secretary & Intakes Director
[email protected]

Gina Troman

Events & Fundraising Director
[email protected]

Rhonda Janzen

Volunteer & Monetary Donation Director
[email protected]

Emily Harder

Behaviour Director
[email protected]

About the Board

kARLA aLSOP

Karla has been involved with GEARS since 2018, although her experience with animal rescue goes back to 2012. Karla is passionate about animal welfare with a particular interest in force free training, which was what led her to GEARS in the first place. She has held various positions on the board and is honoured to be the new President. She is looking forward to continuing to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable animals in need, advocating for animal welfare, and engaging the community. When not volunteering (or working), Karla fills her spare time with her dogs, foster dogs (and foster cats on occasion), and travelling.

lINA MEADOWS

Lina joined GEARS as a foster in 2020 after stepping up to volunteer on the adoptions teams, she moved into a bigger role serving on the board. As a social worker, her love for helping people has always gone hand-in-hand with her passion for animals. Life on her farm east of Edmonton is never dull—her animal family includes chickens, bees, sheep, pigs, ducks, a donkey, 4 rescue dogs, 3 rescue kitties, and of course, 4 barn cats. When she’s not busy with chores or making the trip into the city, Lina enjoys true crime podcasts, reading, and crafting!

Stephanie Major

Steph has been a volunteer with GEARS since 2018. She has helped in many areas including events, social media, transportation, behaviour, and fostering. After adopting one of her last fosters, Booth (previously Lyle), she decided to take more of a leadership role in the organization and joined our board in 2022. Her main role is treasurer, but she still helps out wherever she’s needed. Since becoming diagnosed with Crohn’s she’s had to slow down a little, but is still extremely passionate about helping animals. A couple of her favourite fundraisers are the Craftathon, Videogamathon, and anything to do with Fur Eh!. Her evenings are usually snuggled up with her dogs crocheting something fun.

Michelle Goodman

Michelle came to us through the CAWS merger, where she made significant contributions as a member of the fundraising team and the board, overseeing many operational tasks. In August 2024, she joined our board as the Director of Volunteers. Michelle is dedicated to enhancing the community through her volunteer work, particularly by supporting animal welfare initiatives.

With over 15 years of experience in the provincial education sector, Michelle has held a range of roles. She enjoys crafting, building puzzles, and is passionate about encouraging others who share her commitment to animal welfare.

Michelle resides on the southside of Edmonton with her rescue dog, Harlow (her first CAWS foster), and her 16-year-old cat, Molly.

Katelyn Fox

Katelyn joined GEARS in late 2024 when she fostered her first cat. Within 24 hours she knew she was going to be a foster fortune, and has been the loving mother of a little ginger chaos machine since then.

Katelyn knew she wanted to do more to support GEARS to help animals in need in her community and soon joined the shelter, medical, and adoptions teams as a volunteer. In August 2025, Katelyn joined the board as Intake Director and Secretary. She has a soft spot for kittens and senior cats. In her free time, Katelyn likes to make pottery at a local pottery studio and cozy up with her cat under a blanket while reading books.

rob solomonson

Rob came to GEARS through the CAWS merger, where he oversaw the warehouse operations. He has continued to help oversee the work in the warehouse and introduced more efficient material handling systems to the operation. He joined the board in November 2024. Rob has 5 years of warehouse logistics, 10 years of sales and sales management, and 20 years of data analysis experience. Rob lives in Northeast Edmonton with his family and dog, Piper, and enjoys camping and travelling.

Rhonda Janzen

Rhonda is thrilled to join GEARS as the Director of Volunteers and of Monetary Donations. A lifelong animal lover, she’s a proud fur mom to her spunky 13 year old pup – Francine (aka Franky) and some very opinionated lovebirds who keep her on her toes. Rhonda brings a strong background in the non-profit sector, with a wealth of experience in volunteer and event coordination, community engagement and fund development. Rhonda is excited to continue to rally support, build community and ensure every paw and claw gets the love they deserve. Always ready to lend a hand—or a treat—she’s here to make a difference.

Gina Troman

Gina began volunteering in 2019 after adopting her beloved puppy, Jeter (pictured). She started out on an adoptions team conducting phone interviews with potential adopters, later became an adoptions coordinator, and eventually served for a year on the board of directors for a rescue organization in southern Alberta. In 2025, Gina decided to bring her passion for animal rescue closer to home by getting involved with a local charity. The timing was perfect, and she jumped into GEARS with both feet, quickly becoming a valued part of the successful events team. A proud mom, Gina often volunteers alongside her young son, who shares her love for animals and her enthusiasm for helping those in need. With a background in project management and planning, she’s excited to contribute her skills and experience to the fundraising and events team.

Emily Harder

Emily has been a part of GEARS since 2019 when she adopted Luna. She then got into volunteering at events and fostering. She recently fostered fortuned Bear from the 2025 B litter. She has a senior resident dog Moo and cat Stacy. Emily is the behaviour director, her work in daycares/kennels, grooming and work as a veterinary assistant shows her love for all animals. She loves backwoods camping in the mountains with her dogs and going out to dog friendly patios for a bite to eat!

Get In touch

If you are looking to volunteer, foster, owner surrender, adopt or Intake Appointment Request – Strathcona County please click the links for the appropriate form. Please read our FAQ below before submitting your message. Our rescue is run by volunteers, so please be patient as a response may take up to 72 hours.

PO Box 69013 Skyview, Edmonton, AB, T6V1G7

Please note that we are volunteer-run and foster home based, so we do not have a physical address. If you need further assistance, please use our contact form.

[email protected]

Please email or complete form to contact us

Please note that we are volunteer-run, and do not have the resources to manage a public phone line. Please fill out our contact form or surrender form and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Charity number

822791430RR0001

FAQ

Most frequent questions and answers

Thank you for reaching out to us to help you rehome your animal! Our form is hosted by Google Drive – please sign in with your email or create an account to access the form. This is a security setting created by Google, as we request a file upload of a image of your animal 🙂  

Hi there, thank you for thinking of us! Please email [email protected] and our donations director will be happy to help you.

You will receive a link with your order confirmation email titled “Your Greater Edmonton Animal Rescue Society order is now complete” to choose a location and schedule your pickup. Please search for this email in your inbox and spam folder before contacting us for support.

After you click the link and select a pickup time, you will be able to choose your pickup area. You will receive the full address in an email after completing the Calendly booking.

You will receive a confirmation email titled “Your Greater Edmonton Animal Rescue Society order is now complete” when your order is available. Please ensure you check your spam folder if you do not see this email. Please wait to receive this email – if this email has not been sent out, we do not have ice melt in stock and do not have an estimated time. Please note it may take up to 2 weeks for our palettes to arrive.

All cats/dogs found within the city limits must go through the Animal Care & Control Centre. You can contact them by dialing 311 or learn more here: edmonton.ca/scheduledintake

You can also try to find the animal’s owner by using Edmonton Lost & Found Pets Search:

https://edmontonacccpets.shelterbuddy.com/

Please fill out the surrender form found on our website and our Intake Director will reply if we have available space. You must sign in or create an account to submit the form. Google Forms has a security rules for uploading an image of your animal to the form.

If our product listing says out of stock, we do not have an approximate date of when we will have a new palette in.

Please enter your email here and we will send a notification when we have ice melt availabilty. We are unable to reply to any email requests for ice melt.

We are unable to change CanadaHelps donations from our end. Please follow this link for instructions on how to access your account dashboard and make edits to your donations.

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We've got a full house!

Our foster home applications are currently on hold.

Please check back later or follow us on Facebook for updates!

DOG SHIRT SIZE CHART

Dog shirt size chart

softstyle racerback tank

softstyle t-shirt

DONATE

We can issue tax receipts for cash donations equal or greater than $20! Our charity number is 822791430RR0001.

Ways to donate

By cheque:
P.O. Box 69013 Skyview
Edmonton, AB
T6V 1G7

donate with PayPal
The ATB Cares program matches donations by 15% and will issue a tax receipt on our behalf! Click here to donate through ATB Cares!
 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!