THUNDER BAY – After more than 20 hours on the road, 30 dogs from a remote Manitoba community arrived in Thunder Bay early Monday morning.
The Thunder Bay District Humane Society is assisting the Manitoba Underdogs Rescue after they rescued 37 dogs from Chemawawin Cree Nation, five hours north of Winnipeg.
“This is the first time in assisting the rescue in Manitoba,” said Thunder Bay District Humane Society board chair, Brenda Everts.
“Even though it is in Manitoba, we have to be conscious of the fact that we are a member of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies and we are all here to support what we can and when we can. Getting immediate medical care to the majority of these animals is going to be our priority in this point and time.”
The condition of the dogs varies greatly, with some showing signs of malnourishment, injuries, matted fur, and skin conditions. A veterinarian will assess the health of the dogs on Monday and Tuesday.
“We have some that we are very concerned about,” Everts said. “We have some that are a lot underweight and we have some moms and some very young pups that we are looking at assessing the health on.”
According to Everts, the Humane Society was not at capacity prior to the animals being transported to the facility on Rosslyn Road. Any dogs at the facility were adopted or transported to Thunder Bay Animal Services to be put up for adoption before the arrival of the 30 dogs.
“Even though it was a little bit of a challenge here with the construction of the spay and neuter clinic, we felt we had the capacity and the staff that could take on this type of a rescue,” Everts said.
The dogs will remain in quarantine for the next 10 days because Everts said the possibility of spreading any diseases is still a concern. Following vet assessments, the dogs could be placed up for adoption in the next two weeks.
Jessica Hansen, executive director of Manitoba Underdogs Rescue, said they were contacted by members of the community to help remove the dogs because of growing safety concerns.
“Some of the community members were worried about the dogs packing up and roaming, especially hanging around the school with the kids,” Hansen said. “They were just worried about dogs getting aggressive, looking for food, or chasing females in heat.”
Hansen added that growing populations of stray dogs in remote communities across the province of Manitoba is becoming a significant issue for animal rescues, which is why they have been forced to branch out.
“We don’t do these rescues as often as we can because of the lack of space,” Hansen said. “Manitoba is so overrun, all the rescues there are always full to the brim, so we’ve had to start branching out over the last year to other provinces to see if they can assist. For the most part, thankfully, they have been more than happy to help us with these missions.”
