Volunteers 'paint it fur-ward' by adding colour to Whitehorse animal shelter

The Yukon Humane Society's dog kennels in Whitehorse have been given a bright new facelift, thanks to a group of local volunteers.

On Sunday, the group of 17 women got together to paint the kennels at the back of the shelter and make them appear more colourful and cheery.  

The project was organized by the volunteer photographer for the kennel, Kaley-lynn Anne Hewitt-MacDougall. She said the idea for the "Paint it Fur-ward" campaign came to her after taking photos of the dogs inside the mostly colourless kennels in the winter, when it's too cold for outdoor pictures.  

"It's too cold for my camera, it's too cold for the dogs unless they're Huskies. So this gives us an opportunity to take photos inside that are going to be really beautiful and very cheerful. No more cement backgrounds," said Hewitt-MacDougall. 

Hewitt-Macdougall organized the event through a local Facebook group she started called Yukon Ladies Ask. She established the group after moving to the Yukon from Edmonton just over a year ago, as a way for independent female business leaders to support one another and host get-togethers like the one they just did. 

There were 13 kennels painted in total, and each was sponsored by a different women-owned business from the group. Hewitt-MacDougall says one of the best parts about these events is the camaraderie that comes out of it. 

"By the time the day finishes, we're all just best friends and there's so much laughter and so much amazing energy shared between everybody there. It really is a high. It's infectious," she said.

Hewitt-MacDougall said they chose the colours for the kennels based on some research from the internet on what dogs love best in their surroundings. 

"They don't like red. This is what we've heard. We also found out they can't see reds. We have picked some really nice natural tones. So some like, neutral greens and oranges and blues, very earthy tones, and some yellows," said Hewitt-MacDougall.

"These are supposed to be the colours that they can see the best, and that make them feel calm and happy."

At the end of the day, Hewitt-MacDougall felt proud of the work done by the team of volunteers. She believes the new coat of paint has given a friendlier face to the kennels. 

She said coming to adopt a dog can make some people nervous.

"So now I'm hoping when someone comes back there to adopt a dog, it's bright and it feels inviting and it feels fun, and it helps kind of shift that uncomfortable, nervous feeling that they might get."