Our Animal Wellness Ambassadors span the globe, reaching as far north as the SPCA in the Canadian Northwest Territories:
"We are a non-profit organization that has been around since the mid 80's. A few years ago we seriously started looking for land and a way to have an animal shelter. Up to that point we did not have a shelter but helped out the local vet which is also the city pound. The SPCA started a foster program 2 1/2 years ago but quickly realized we needed a home of our own. There were and still are way too many dogs in the north to help. We opened our doors last October 2012. We did not have enough money to build all of the kennels (30), but settled on 15 plus 10 condos in the cat room. As an Ambassador we hope to get the word out to the country about the problems in the North and hopefully find the means to mitigate the problems. The first step is to get veterinary care into isolated communities where there is a dog over-population and diseases. Shooting dogs is the only way to control this in the northern communities. This vet service mobile program will go hand in hand with education. We are starting to make some progress in this regard but we have a long way to go."
A pup named Skye was recently adopted by a family in Washington. Quite the adventure for the little girl. She was sent to NWT SPCA from Kugluktuk Nunavut last month.
There are plenty more animals waiting to be adopted. There is a fantastic, lovable girl named Sheba, who came from a northern community, who was about to be shot. She is a few years old and has had several litters. She must have been a former sled dog or have mushing dog in her blood because she can run like the wind. She would be incredible for recreational ski-jorring or kick sledding.
The NWT SPCA is also trying to re-home a blind dog named Chopin. He is 6 years old and lost his sight about 2 years ago. The children in his family are little and are too much for the dog to handle. The owners are afraid he will become agressive due to his disability adn nervousness. He is a lovely boy that needs a quiet home with the proper owner.
Rescue organizations frequently hold events in order to raise funds. The next NWT SPCA event will be the Peterson and Auger Golf Tournament in June. Last year was the first one and the company decided they would do the event every year. Last year they raised about $7000. As well, on June 21 there is the Annual NWT Riders -Midnight Sun Motorcycle Run. In July is the Shelter Grand Opening which should be a big open house event.
Things get quite busy at the shelter! There are always dogs coming in and flying out. Programs include dog walking and volunteers dropping in to help. Trevor is the only paid employee and he is there monday to friday from 7-2 pm. All other hours are covered by us board members and volunteers. There is also a special needs community program called School to Work Transition happening twice a week that allows 4 young people the chance to get into the community doing jobs. There is food being donated, crate pick ups from the airport that have arrived back from Edmonton after a shipment of dogs. There is something going on every day. It can get over whelming and frustrating when there is so much to do and not enough people to do it.
The NWT SPCA says they were very excited to be a part of the ANimals Wellness Article this spring. "It was a huge deal for all of us at the NWT SPCA. We are looking forward to continuing the role in the future".
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