Volunteers rush to rescue dogs before planned cull in La Loche, Sask.
More than 100 dogs rescued from northern village
Volunteers rescued more than 100 dogs from the Northern Village of La Loche, Sask., this week after learning the community was planning to cull the animals.
La Loche, about 600 kilometres north of Saskatoon, had asked residents to surrender dogs in exchange for a $10 payment.
When Kristine O'Brien, the owner of a pet boarding and training business in Martensville, Sask., heard about it on Monday, she jumped in her vehicle to make the long drive north.
"I said … let's just go. Let's just go get five dogs, whatever I can fit in my car," she said. "And then I mentioned that to another person. And then I mentioned that to another person and I mentioned that to another rescue and they said, 'Well, how many can we get?' And I said, 'I don't know.' And then it just blew up."
O'Brien said some animals were shot by the village before volunteers arrived, but many were saved, including 101 dogs that she was able to take in at Paws Republic Centre for Pets after her landlord gave her the use of an empty building next door.
Other rescue organizations became involved, including Calgary-based From The Streetz Rescue Foundation, which Sara Mollo founded.
Mollo said people banded together to support each other and the dogs.
"It kind of just flourished, like, somebody knew somebody and then next thing you know, we've got Paws Republic. They found a space for us and set all that up," she said.
"We had some frontliners that work in the community go get a horse trailer and head out there and we've just had an unbelievable response from the community."
Once the dogs arrived in Martensville, just north of Saskatoon, they all needed to be seen by a veterinarian and receive their immunizations before they could be fostered out.
By Thursday night, 66 dogs remained, and about another 20 went out the door by Friday afternoon, O'Brien said.
Village offered $10 per dog
Originally, La Loche posted a notice on its Facebook page asking residents to surrender their dogs on two days this week: Monday and Friday.
"As most people are probably aware, our community is currently experiencing serious problems due to the high number of uncared-for dogs in the community," the notice said.
"These dogs are unfed, unhealthy and have no shelter during cold weather days. We have also been unsuccessful in hiring an animal control officer to help manage this problem."
After rescue volunteers headed to La Loche on Monday, the village posted an update that they were cancelling Friday's dog surrender, but O'Brien said she was hearing that dogs were still being brought in.
CBC reached out to the village for comment, but did not receive a reply.
This isn't the first time La Loche has had to deal with too many stray dogs. In 2021, dog rescuers and community members worked together to round-up dogs and take them to foster homes. In 2019, the village cancelled a planned dog cull after there was a public outcry.
Don Ferguson, chief animal protection officer and executive director of Animal Protection Services of Saskatchewan, said he's seeing more situations like the one in La Loche, and it's exacerbated by humane societies and SPCAs throughout the province being "completely full."
Undertaking a rescue can be overwhelming for groups that are already so busy, he said, and it's a concern going into the future.
"I don't have any concerns with these particular animals right now," he said. "I have concerns for the future that if, as a larger community — I'm saying Saskatchewan as a community — that doesn't come together to find a solution for this, it's going to continue to be a problem."
The Canine Action Project is a charity that partners with First Nations communities in Saskatchewan. Vice-president Meagan Schmitz said in a statement that she couldn't comment on dog population issues in communities where the project isn't active, but that many communities do face a "dire situation" in terms of pet overpopulation, rooted in Canada's history of colonization and chronic under-resourcing.
"Our experience shows that having access to feasible veterinary care such as spay/neuter surgeries, vaccinations, emergency care, food bank programs and continued support and outreach have drastically reduced dog overpopulation and safety concerns within our partner First Nations, while improving the health and wellbeing of the people and animals," she said.
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With files from Louise Bigeagle