🐶 Four Feet and a Heartbeat Animal Rescue in Lacombe, Alberta
💛 A No-Kill Dog Rescue With Heart.
We believe every dog deserves a second chance. That’s why Four Feet and a Heartbeat provides a safe, loving home for dogs until the right forever family comes along. No ticking clock. No exceptions.
Whether a dog stays with us for a few weeks or over 18 months, they receive veterinary care, vaccinations, and spay/neuter services—and all the love we can give.
💪 Our Mission
At Four Feet and a Heartbeat, our mission is to rescue, rehabilitate, and re-home animals with compassion and dignity—one life at a time.
We believe every animal deserves a second chance, regardless of their background or circumstance.
Rooted in decades of hands-on experience, we provide safe shelter, medical care, and lifelong advocacy for animals in need. Through trusted partnerships, responsible adoption, and community education, we’re building a future where no animal is forgotten—and every heartbeat is valued.
📜 Our History
Early 1990s
🐾 Raised in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Kyla Mykytiw’s rescue journey began early—bottle-feeding orphaned animals, caring for strays, and gaining hands-on experience in the pet care and agricultural industries.1996
🎓 Graduates from the Canadian Equestrian Association Western Coaching Program through Olds College, formalizing her foundation in animal behavior and care.1997
🏠 Launches CARES (Central Animal Rescue Efforts), Central Alberta’s first no-kill shelter. CARES becomes a trusted rescue partner to:
◦ County of Ponoka
◦ City of Ponoka
◦ City of Lacombe
◦ County of Lacombe
◦ Maskwacis Cree Nation (formerly Hobbema)1998
🔧 Purchases and develops CARES’ dedicated shelter facility to meet rising regional need for ethical animal care and adoption services.2007
🌍 Partners with City Fort Worth Animal Care & Control, Petsmart, Detection K-9 of America, Gifted Animal Placement Program, K-9 Strike Force and the Fort Worth Police Department K9 Unit. Focuses on rescuing high-drive dogs at risk of euthanasia and placing them into narcotics detection and working dog programs across North America.2013
🚚 Coordinates large-scale transport programs, helping relocate thousands of dogs from overburdened U.S. shelters to adoptive homes in Canada.2020
🛑 The COVID-19 pandemic halts cross-border transport due to border closures, pausing operations after a decade of success.2024
💖 With a renewed vision, Four Feet and a Heartbeat is born—carrying forward Kyla’s legacy with a name that honours the powerful bond between animals and the people who believe in them.
🏇🏼 About Our Founder
Kyla Mykytiw — Founder, Advocate, Lifelong Rescuer.
For as long as she can remember, Kyla Mykytiw has felt a calling to care for animals in need. As a child growing up in Sherwood Park, Alberta, her compassion ran deep—nursing stray animals back to health, bottle-feeding orphaned animals, and offering a safe haven to any creature that crossed her path. This wasn’t just a childhood phase—it was the beginning of a lifelong mission.
Driven by that early passion, Kyla pursued hands-on experience in the pet care industry and built a strong agricultural foundation that would serve her for years to come. In 1996, she graduated from the Canadian Equestrian Association’s Western Coaching Program through Olds College, further grounding her in animal behavior, training, and welfare.
Just a year later, she founded CARES (Central Animal Rescue Efforts) K9 Country Orphanage—Central Alberta’s first no-kill rescue and adoption center. CARES quickly became a vital partner to municipalities across the region, providing 24/7 on-call rescue services and compassionate sheltering. Under Kyla’s leadership, CARES served not only local towns and counties but also worked directly with First Nations communities including Maskwacis, formerly known as Hobbema.
Her reputation for ethical rescue work and relentless dedication caught the attention of international partners. In the early 2000s, Kyla expanded her efforts beyond borders—forming partnerships with shelters and law enforcement agencies in the U.S., including the City of Fort Worth, Texas and the Fort Worth Police Department. She played a key role in identifying high-drive dogs at risk of euthanasia and matching them with working roles in narcotics detection and search-and-rescue teams across North America.
By 2013, Kyla had helped develop large-scale animal transport initiatives, coordinating the relocation of thousands of at-risk dogs from high-intake shelters in the U.S. to adoptive homes in Canada. Her work filled a crucial gap in the rescue world—matching regions with overwhelming need to communities eager to adopt, and doing so with care, coordination, and heart.
Today, that legacy continues through Four Feet and a Heartbeat, an organization Kyla founded to mark a new chapter in her rescue journey. Drawing on over two decades of hands-on experience, cross-border collaboration, and community-based care, Kyla leads with a simple yet powerful philosophy:
Every rescue story begins the same way: with four feet and a heartbeat. 💖
🐾 Four Feet and a Heartbeat 