THUNDER BAY - A respiratory illness at the Thunder Bay District Humane Society is placing added pressure on an already overwhelmed staff and could lead to a financial crisis for the local animal shelter.
“It’s going to cripple us,” said Brenda Everts, chair of the board of directors at the Thunder Bay District Humane Society. “It’s going to put us in a position where we were five years ago when we almost had to close our doors.”
Everts said the Humane Society will need as much as $50,000 in the next two months in order to remain open, and she is reaching out to the public for help.
“We protect animals against cruelty and this is our mandate,” she said. “Please help us at this time. We are asking everybody, business, people, we need your help. You want us to stay open, we need your help at this time.”
The respiratory illness, known as kennel cough, was discovered late last week. It is an airborne virus that can be transferred from dogs and cats to humans.
The source of the illness can most likely be traced to 17 dogs from Longlac that were surrendered to the Humane Society following an investigation by Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal agents on Mar. 31, 2017. Staff believe one of the dogs climbed a gate in a panic, which gave it access to the rest of the facility.
The same investigation saw 12 dogs in immediate distress transferred to the Humane Society in February and has led to animal cruelty charges.
“When the last set of dogs were brought in, it took us a couple of weeks before we were able to get them vet assessed due to the large volume of dogs,” Everts said. “We contacted the local vets and we struggled to get vets in to assess the dogs. Our local vet was out of town.”
The dogs are currently under a 10 day quarantine, but the outbreak has forced the Humane Society to close its doors, halt all adoptions, and stop taking in any additional animals. The sterilization process has already begun, but it is a difficult and long process.
“We have to basically wipe down every object in the building, floors, walls, windows, door frames, files, anything you can actually see,” Everts said. “Phones, wires, anything you can touch, we have to wipe that down.”
“It’s very costly to manage, it’s extremely difficult to break, it could take anywhere from two weeks to three months,” Everts continued. “We had to close the shelter to adoptions which means there are no revenues coming in for us.”
With no source of revenue for such an extended period of time, the Humane Society is facing a potential financial crisis, which Everts is calling unprecedented.
“This has already been a challenging year for us financially,” Everts said. “We made a decision a year ago to bring on a second OSPCA agent. We had not received funding for a second agent, but we felt that given the vast area that we service, from the Manitoba border to Sault Ste. Marie, we felt it was necessary to bring on a second agent.”
The Humane Society will be looking into applying for an emergency relief grant from Pet Smart Charities, reaching out to businesses, as well as looking to sponsorship opportunities. Everts said she will be personally donating $500 to help ensure the shelter remains open.
With several high-profile dog rescues in the last two months, staff and volunteers have been working around the clock while also facing issues of cyberbullying, which Everts said has been emotionally and physically draining.
“The stress levels have been unreal,” she said. “The staff has been resilient through all this. I commend them.”
