PetSave - Another day & Northern Communities

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Well, I just-- See, what works for you is you could take your foster with you if you have one. No, I need to bring animals home. I have enough animals in my house. I have the races. I got my brother-in-law now. His girlfriend's here from Quebec. Oh. And I just-- I said, I'm not sure if I'm going to survive my brother-in-law or not. Really? Really not. (Laughs) Like, he's a-- he's a-- he's a former cop, a RCMP top dog. Yeah.

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Yeah.

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So is he-- is he being in charge? He's trying. Really? Absolutely. Mm. Oh,(...) yeah. And that's cooking.

I go to bed that night. I've got two doors and two windows open. My husband has this beautiful-- actually, it's the nicest fan I've ever seen. It's not like a regular fan. Because I said, I'm not listening to a

fucking

fan all night like, piece of quiet white sleep. Yeah. My husband-- you came and hear this thing. It's a maybe. Is it a woo-- is it a woozoo? I don't know. But it was a-- Does it spin and do all this? Yes. Yeah, I've got

of them

in my house now. Do you? Yeah. They're awesome. Apparently. Of course, I'm not even telling you how to do that, right? I'm just like, now I got

fucking fan through it. Oh, see, now we got the inside scoop. It's great. But don't let them know it's great. Yeah, that's no absolutely. No, no. Because I'm making them suffer. Because I feel like this one, like, I kind of got hung out to dry on this deal. So I'm letting them pay a little bit.(...) No comment. So what happened last week? You were stuck--

pets didn't get picked up. Picked up. Airplane, what happened?(...) So you know what? So a lot happens in the north. And right now, when I say we're in a crisis, I couldn't even emphasize that word. That almost seems like not even strong enough a word to describe what we're living through right now. So what happens is the Bark Bus went through to northern Winnipeg. There's various groups up there. And they have the highest percentage-- or the highest number of First Nation communities. And a lot of them way out of control in the past. So what's northern Winnipeg? North of Lake Winnipeg? Like, way up there? Way up in the top end of Winnipeg.

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So anyway, of Manitoba. Manitoba. Sorry, the top end of Manitoba. So anyways, they call out for help. And the biggest populous is southern Ontario, right? Like, that's where all our population-- a huge piece of Canada is sitting in the bottom of southern Ontario there. Yeah. So we've been sending-- I send to rescue groups in the south as well, because I simply can't take the numbers anymore. Yeah. We're saturated. Oh, oversaturated. Like, I'm choking. Like, that's how bad it is. And so--(...) and I know you must sound like a broken record, but that's where we're at. And so every day, there's more surrender calls. And I'm like, where are all these dogs going, right? So anyways, the northern group in Manitoba, they bordered. And you know what? With all the respect, I don't blame them. When you actually have help, access, flights,(...) trucks, whatever available, you get out as much as you can at a time. Right. So what happened was when I was supposed to meet with you, and this is how life changes on a dime. Yeah. I appreciate your being patient with me, because that's why I don't make appointments, even personal appointments, because-- You can't. I'm the worst customer in the world, because I may not show up. And so that's what happened with you. I ended up-- there was some confusion over some crates that had to get out to a trailer that was going up north. And I had to get some stuff out there to get on that truck, because that bark bus was leaving to go to Manitoba. And it was bringing the dogs from northern Manitoba down in southern Ontario. And then Sunday night, when it arrived back here,

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there was additional problems. We had dogs on there that were not assigned, meaning that they loaded extra cargo on that truck, and it comes parallel down the road. And there's no way for those dogs, no destiny. So I got a call from Craig Fielding, he said, can you help us out here? We're stuck. We got six apparently assigned. Turns out it was only four, because I think two of them just slipped by and couldn't figure out who they were. So they just went on into southern Ontario. So we took four additional dogs that I'm holding currently, and we have Niagara Dog Rescue came up the other night and met the dogs. And they're going to try and fight foster homes for them. So they come up, take the dogs down in their vehicle? They will eventually, hopefully.(...) I literally said, I have them in my tub room, where we wash our dogs. I have them in my laundry room.

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I have no space for them. So what kind of dogs are these that came? Big. Big, always big dogs. What's a big dog? Well, there's a Bully Maxx. It's probably about 80 pounds.

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Big, Shepherd Girl, probably about 80 pounds, Shepherd Husky. And there's one big lab guy, but he actually has tremors. So-- He's shaking? Yeah. So I just said to him, you know what? It's a rare condition. We've seen it once or twice before.(...) And so I keep that dog. Just because a lot of rescues are financially very strong.(...) I'm fortunate. We have our support in our community of our thrift store. So I'm fortunate to have that support, and we're able to take on those cases so we don't drain them. They're able to continue. So I've said to them, you know what? If I need to keep that one, I'm open to it. So you're not only operating here in Northern Ontario, but you're also helping out within Manitoba. I know. And I don't generally help in Manitoba. We have more than enough animals in Ontario in our own community here in Sudbury. Like, I haven't been able to take anything from the northern communities because Sudbury's so busy. Yeah. Like, the amount of calls we're getting here. So again, they're hoarding situations. I took 23 cats out of a bachelor apartment, maybe 300 square feet, one litter box. It was lovely. Within the last week? Yeah, the last few weeks, yeah. Really? And then we had the 27 dogs a few weeks ago. So we fill up very quickly. Like, the city keeps me busy.(...) Cats. What do you do with all these cats? Because we've been talking a lot about dogs. We haven't talked about too many of the cat things. But what do you do with all these cats? We just find them homes. Sometimes it takes two months. And not that-- And usually find them homes. I'm out there to spay everybody's females. So if you have a cat with kittens, give me a call. I want to be-- I want your cats. I want your kittens.(...) I will spay their female with them for an incredible price of $85. I ran a program in Sudbury for it.

So no,(...) we are-- like I say, we've always battled the cat population. Yeah. There are a couple of new groups in town helping out a little bit and taking in some numbers. So hopefully that will help make a dent. I mean, we could do 20 rescue groups in every city. But it's taxing on your time. Huge taxing on your wallet. Because it's rescues. Like, we're almost $2 million a year to operate. Yeah. So we need to raise almost $2 million to pay our bills every year. That's a lot of money. And it's only going up, I'm sure. Especially if it's-- have you ever gotten any calls from Quebec?(...) No. I stay away from that. OK. Because there's so much going on in Quebec. That's a disaster place. Yeah. That's a lot of puppy mills.

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But you know what's interesting is Alberta is bringing in some-- and there's a credible guy named Reed Solomon that works out in Alberta. He's making headways in his north, in the northern communities out of Alberta.

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But so there's work everywhere to be done, for sure, in every province. But there are some great groups opening and happening across each province. There's thousands of rescue groups. And it literally costs hundreds of millions. It seems like all these animals are coming from the wild, wild north.

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So First Nation communities are definitely a challenge for us. Number one, they don't fall under our bylaws. So they're easily can get out of control in the numbers without being addressed in bylaw numbers.

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First Nation, very advanced.(...) And in First Nations communities, a lot of the people now, the residents are wanting to see improved animal care and bylaws. The residents themselves, yeah. Because thousands of dog bites and dog attacks on those First Nation communities. A lot of times the dogs are starving. And they're in poor health. I saw the other day on the island, I think it was Wiki. There was a pit bull type dog that mauled a woman. And her face was all bandaged up.(...) And whatever else happened. But then there was the calls to get the animal put down. I don't know what happened with it. Don't know what's happened. That was only like two, three days ago. Yes. And so those are the concerns, right? So we have what we call shooting calls. Yeah. And in the First Nation communities, they start these shooting calls to combat population problems. Because they're so-- it becomes overpopulated, it becomes unsafe for the residents, right? For the members of the community. Because the dogs are just running wild? They're just running wild. There's no controls.

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But we're working with a lot of First Nation communities now. Because a lot of them, there's good people there. And they really care. And they want to see change come. So we're hoping to see it quicker than later. Because of course, it's a huge cost to us as rescues to maintain those numbers coming off First Nations communities. And we can't take them in the numbers we used to. Therefore, more are staying there in spade and unneutered. So we're venturing into the north of spade neuter clinics. We're going to a couple up north in the fall.

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And we're just going to-- my focus over the next couple of years is to hit those First Nation communities, try to set up programs with them. We're open to talking with them. We can help them and assist them in bringing down their numbers so that their community members are safe, so that children can feel safe. It's interesting, because we did Wiki a few years back. And we took over 100 dogs out. And it was interesting to see the children in their thought. They were actually afraid of these dogs. They see them as wild dogs. But they're only in survival mode, those dogs. Once you take them out of survival mode, and they're cared for, they get all their-- They get food. Yeah, they're fed.(...) Housing, properly spade and neutered. Amazing, they're a different dog.(...) So it was amazing when they came back a few weeks later and eat some of these dogs. And they met them. And they-- Totally different. I'm curious, yeah, because those weren't the same dogs they met, right? To me, it seems like this is like the opioid crisis. It's the same thing over and over. What is it going to take to actually change it, instead of just throwing more money, treating the problem, and then going from there? Band-aids never work. No.

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And I always equate our animal overpopulation crises to third world poverty. You'll never eradicate it, because you can't get everybody to cooperate. But if we can start getting more people to cooperate, and more people to spay, then we will see those numbers come down. And it takes decades to do that. So we're just starting and venturing into more northern communities. And COVID literally ruined-- Everything. So what happened in COVID will feel for 20 to 25 years in the animal world.

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That's insane. Yeah, it just seems like a merry-go-round. It is. Same thing. It's about progressive leaders in First Nation communities.

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We need those leaders to say, yep, I'm ready. Let's put in some programs. Let's put in some bylaws. Let's have some policies and humane policies, and stop shooting to end shooting calls. Because when animals are shot, they're not always injured. I take in many dogs that have been shot, and they have bullets still in them. Really? And they're still going? They're going right down here. They've arrived and survived shooting calls. So that's un-traditional? It's an inhumane method of controlling populations. And we're really encouraging people to work with us, the First Nations communities, to stop the calls,(...) pick up the phone, work with us. We have better ways of doing it, humane.(...) And you've got to look at some of these children. We talk about First Nation communities, the mental health crisis they have on the First Nation communities, and generational trauma.

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So how is it when they watch a shooting call on something they've seen as a puppy or loved as a younger dog and made a connection, and then that suddenly shot and bloodied on the road?

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So what's the effect of that? What I see affects me mentally.(...) A lot of people can be in rescue and rescue. People generally have a certain time of period that they can stay in, because what you see takes a toll on you. So if you've grown up your whole life, seeing trauma after trauma after trauma, it's time to stop the trauma. And we can work with them to make that happen.(...) So we're starting into more and more communities, and we're reaching out saying, please, stop what you're doing.(...) Invite us in. Let's work as a team. We can fix this. We don't need-- we can end shooting calls. We can bring in spay and neuter clinics. They have no access to vet care. A lot of these places are very remote. A lot of them are in fly-ins. So how am I going to-- how do you get them there? It's very expensive. It's like $9,000 to fly a plane in to load it with dogs. We're going to do that. We're just working on a plan right now to help the Szechuan because the residents have left. And it looks like it's going to be a long term that they're going to be away from the community. So you've got maybe 400 people left in that community, and you've got 400 dogs. Estimated to be 300 to 400 dogs up there. That's going to go-- Very badly, very quickly. Yeah, it doesn't take long. Starvation, survivor, cannibalism. It's very-- it's a reality. So they need help. The government needs to step in and help.

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First Nations leaders need to work. We're happy to assist them because we have the structure to be able to walk in and help them. Szechuan, so it's water related. That's why they're not always there. They don't even have clean drinking water still after over 20 however many years that is. Insane, isn't it? It's insane. It's a business. It's about really hitting the root cause to all these issues.(...) And so by, say, addressing water problems, let's get them back in their community. They deserve to be there. And what is it costing taxpayers for them to be out of the community? It almost happens every year. And it's across the government to fly food in. We've flown food in. It's very expensive to fly it in there to keep these dogs going. So let's fly them out. Let's get the numbers under control. And then we're looking to go in there in the fall and run a spay and neuter clinic for the remainder. But our goal right now, we have the plans and the works to start removing them. We're going to fly them out in a plain mode at a time. Spay and neuter your animals. Jill from Pet Save.

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