Organizations and residents from throughout Saskatchewan responded to the needs of Southend pets in recent weeks. (ID 93770165 © Dimarik16 | Dreamstime.com)

By Derek Cornet

goodwill

NAR and others step up to feed Southend pets during evacuation

Sep 12, 2024 | 3:14 PM

When residents of Southend were forced to evacuate their homes 16 days ago, many of them had no choice but to leave their pets behind.

However, thanks to the work of Northern Animal Rescue (NAR) and its supporters, those dogs and cats didn’t go unfed and will welcome their owners to the community as families begin arriving back home today.

“We’re happy to be able to help in these kinds of situations and we have a big network of people we can reach out to, so we are grateful for that as well,” said NAR board member Joanne Dickson.

She explained donations came from NAR itself and its board members, organizations and businesses, as well as individuals. For instance, La Ronge’s Pawsitive Attitude Dog Training donated $500 worth of food and Saskatoon’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals provided 10 bags.

Other donations came from a frontline rescuer in Prince Albert and the non-profit Save Rez Dogs sent an entire truckload themselves. In all, approximately 75 dogs and a handful of cats were fed.

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“We were able to have one truckload of dog food ready to send up within 45 minutes of being contacted, so they were very appreciative of that,” Dickson noted.

“It just goes to show there are a lot of people willing to help in these types of situations.”

Dickson mentioned NAR has been working with residents in Southend for several years, so it wasn’t an issue when they reached out for dog food on short notice. The rescue had sent dog food and straw bales to the community in the past, as well as assisted in cases where animals were in medical distress.

While delivering dog food was the main goal of NAR’s efforts in recent weeks, three young unclaimed puppies from Southend were also assisted and were placed in the care of Moose Jaw’s Running Wild Rescue.

On Aug. 28, the Merkley fire forced close to 1,000 residents to flee Southend. As of Wednesday, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency determined the fire was no longer considered a threat to the community and lifted the evacuation order.

As of Thursday morning, there were 64 active wildfires burning in the province and 584 wildfires to date.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com