‘We haven’t put a dent in the problem yet’: rescue worker calls dog situation at Pelican Narrows a crisis

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Breeze explained the initial plan was to provide outreach and resources in the form of 100 to 200 hay bales and $5,000 in food and medicine. The volunteers would also build shelters. 

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However, after the attack and as the situation escalated, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation issued a community-wide advisory and owners were offered the opportunity to surrender their dogs. 

“Which means we didn’t get to the pack of stray dogs running around the community or the dogs we heard are living at the garbage dump,” Breeze said. “We haven’t put a dent in the problem yet.” 

One of many malnourished stray dogs in the community who have managed to evade capture. (Image Credit: Submitted/ Chelsie Breeze)

With respect to what they encountered, Breeze explained there are many cases where animals are simply not being fed or watered and being forced to live on a two-foot leash. 

“They don’t get exercise, so yeah they are going to get aggressive and when they get off, the likelihood of them biting a kid or attacking a dog is very high.” 

On top of those challenges, some of the homeowners they encountered refused to surrender dogs that required medical attention. And in those cases, the local RCMP was asked to help. 

“And we had to explain to them it’s not okay for you to keep a dog that needs a leg amputated just because the kids don’t want to give it up,” Breeze said. 

While praising PBCN for taking the situation seriously and the local mayor for helping retrieve a dog that escaped from a crate, Breeze said the stray / mistreated dog crisis affects many communities across the north and the responsibility falls on leadership to apply for grants and to have bylaws in place and to enforce them. 

She added that for the cycle to be broken, the communities need to become properly educated about responsible dog ownership. 

“The children were the highlight of our day yesterday because they were so interested in what we are doing in their community and they all came running to the vehicle and they all wanted to know why we were here and we did our best to educate them.” 

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com 

On X: @nigelmaxwell