Big hearts help dogs in First Nations communities

Dogs have always played a significant role in the lives of First Nations peoples. For centuries, they were relied upon to hunt, work, provide food, wool and companionship, and were the subjects of myths and legends passed down over generations.

Today, while dogs still play an important role in the lives of First Nations people, communities are struggling to cope with the problem of dog overpopulation and strays. Many communities are remote with little or no access to veterinarians, and as a result the dogs are generally in poor health.

Big hearts in British Columbia

In the late 90s, Gail Moerkerken received a call from a nurse in the remote First Nation community of Bella Bella, British Columbia. The nurse was horrified at the conditions the animals were living in and asked Gail for help. That call was the beginning of Big Heart Rescue, a WSPA member society. Since the first plea for help almost a decade ago, Big Heart has been working with dogs in First Nations communities. With a team of 20 dedicated volunteers, they now do work with several remote First Nations communities in BC. Big Heart’s reach has extended to these communities, and they've been welcomed by them, because the hard working staff and volunteers have shown an ability to listen to the needs of the people while working alongside them for the benefit of the dogs.

“The issues that First Nations communities face are very complicated, which makes our job more challenging, and there are also different perceptions on quality of care,” said Gail Moerkerken, Big Heart Rescue President. “But we understand that and work with people. We’re able to help the animals because we have such a great relationship with the community."

Big Heart’s Healthy Dog Clinics have been running yearly in Bella Bella for six years. Volunteer vets use a gentle hand to give exams, vaccinations, tend to wounds and provide other types of basic care such as nail trims and ear cleaning. Some members of the local RCMP volunteer their time and are very involved in the program. Officers will sometimes go house to house and encourage people to have their animals treated. Big Heart has also been successful in getting young people involved through a youth volunteer team who hand out collars, leashes, toys, and homemade cookies.

The impact of Big Heart’s work, particularly in Bella Bella, has been tremendous. No cases of parvo have been reported in a year, no cases of distemper in the last five years, and nearly all female animals in Bella Bella are now sterilized. WSPA is proud to support work like this that makes such a huge difference for animals.

There is yet more good news for dogs living in remote communities. Thanks to your support, WSPA gave Big Heart a grant to do the very first on-site sterilization clinic on First Nations land in the remote fly-in community of Oweekeeno.

“WSPA was generous to give us the grant for this first sterilization clinic. I’m praying that we can make a huge inroad for remote sterilization programs in BC and all of Canada,” said Moerkerken. “If we can do it successfully in BC, then perhaps Alberta and the other provinces can use our model."

From rags to wags

Patsy is a First Nations dog that inspired Nancy Larsen to form one of WSPA Canada’s newest member societies, the Alberta Spay Neuter Task Force. In March of 2007, Larsen received pictures of a sad-looking dog living at the garbage dump in the Kainaiwa First Nation of Southern Alberta. Nancy found Patsy at the dump and eventually succeeded in trapping her. “I brought Patsy home that night and worried that she wouldn’t live through the next 24 hours,” said Larsen. “She was so dehydrated and emaciated that I was astonished that she was still alive. Never before had I seen such a bad case of mange.” Patsy not only pulled through, she inspired Larsen to form the Alberta Spay Neuter Task Force in the hope that no other animal will live the life that Patsy lived.

For the last year they have been providing spay and neuter clinics for dogs and cats belonging to members of the Kainaiwa First Nation. Their team of dedicated vets ensures that all the animals in the clinics are also vaccinated, de-wormed, tattooed and treated for fleas, mange and lice. They also make sure that unwanted or stray animals find loving homes through rescue groups, and they provide educational material regarding basic dog and cat care and dog bite prevention. In one short year, they’ve sterilized and treated 114 animals, held two clinics and re-homed 56 dogs. They plan to have at least two more clinics in 2008.

Happy endings

Since 1997, Cochrane Humane Society has improved the lives of 3,000 dogs from the Morley First Nation reserve near Calgary. Since then, this WSPA member society has been holding pet food banks, offering low-cost sterilizations and re-homing unwanted animals.

In January 2008, a special case touched a chord. A dog with a badly broken leg was seen hanging around a construction site on the reserve. A construction crew working there were concerned for him – they also named him after their company and it stuck. "Tritech" disappeared over Christmas, and the crew feared the worst. Tritech returned, and Cochrane Humane Society was called for help. His leg was surgically repaired, and after four months of recovery he was adopted into the loving home of one of the Tritech men who originally found him.

At WSPA we’ve come to believe in happy endings, and it is the stories of animals like Patsy and Tritech that make our work worthwhile.