'We ran out of kennels': 71 dogs rescued from Alberta reserve

Volunteer Brenda Martin watched anxiously as the line of cars grew, snaking down the dusty reserve road east of Peace River, Alta.

Inside each vehicle, residents waited patiently to hand over yelping dogs and bundles of squirming puppies, pets they could no longer care for.

By the end of the day, 71 dogs would be surrendered.

"We put them all in two cargo vans, stacked three cages deep. We had no more kennels," Martin said.

The operation which served Lubicon Cree and Woodland Cree reserves, spanned two days this past weekend, becoming the largest rescue in the Edmonton Humane Society's history.

"We ran out of kennels so the ones that we couldn't fit, the volunteers spent time in their vehicles bringing them back to Edmonton," said Martin, president of the Pet Food Bank of Parkland County.

"We all had co-pilots with fur and four legs. And it was a pleasure to drive with them because they're wonderful animals."

 Although the numbers were unprecedented, it's a familiar scene for Martin and her fellow volunteers.

Over the past year, the group has helped orchestrate more than a dozen rescue missions at remote reserve communities across Alberta — bringing unwanted animals into the care of the Edmonton Humane Society for re-adoption.

'The problem keeps happening' 

Over this past summer, the group's rescue work has brought them north to a number of communities,  including Whitefish Lake First Nation, Peerless Trout First Nation and Loon River First Nation.

Each time, the group has  distributed flyers notifying the community of their pending arrival, and each time their cargo vans return to Edmonton with dozens of surrendered pets.

Reserves across the province are struggling to deal with unchecked pet populations.

"First Nation communities which are very poor can't afford to have the [spay and neuter programs] to come in, so the only way to eliminate many, many unwanted animals is to do a culling, which means to shoot them," Martin said.

"The problem keeps happening because we have no spay and neuter programs in place."

'It's a complex issue'

The surplus pet population is further exacerbated by the chronic dumping of animals seen in rural areas.

"City people put their animals that they no longer want, in their vehicles — a litter of puppies, a litter of kittens — and they find a place and they open the door and they turn them loose."  

Martin is working to establish a mobile spay and neuter program, which would allow the group to travel around the province, providing services free of charge.

"We would be heading to the reserves, we would be heading to the low-income areas in the city," Martin said.

"Month after month, year after year, you go back and eventually you can eliminate a lot of unwanted animals."

The program is one the Edmonton Humane Society is keen to see expand. The shelter plans to add more community outreach to its programming to address the need for rescue services in rural areas.

"There is a need in reserve communities to have support in animal care," said Miranda Jordan-Smith, the shelter's chief executive officer.

"It's a complex issue, but I feel that as a rescue agency we have to be responsive to all the communities that surround us."

The rescued animals, 48 puppies and 23 dogs,  are now receiving medical care in Edmonton and meaning it could be days or weeks before all of them are ready for adoption.

Anyone interested in adopting is encouraged to check the shelter's website regularly for updates on the availability of the rescued canines.

"All these dogs are very, very adoptable," said Martin. "They're beautiful animals."