Jess (left) and Laura, vet techs at Lifeline Animal Clinic

Rescue Me

When it comes to making lifelong commitments

to our pets, the tail is

still wagging the dog

Many of us are concerned with the neglect, abandonment and trauma being suffered on Victoria’s streets everyday, but what about the never-solved basic need crisis being suffered by homeless domestic animals? With technical skills, and a lot of heart, VictoriaAdoptables.com has emerged as a central community portal for animal rescue groups to coordinate efforts and post information about foster animals needing permanent homes. The site brings greater exposure—and financial support—to the huge volume of abandoned domestic animals beyond the SPCA ’s and the CRD Pound’s capacities. Not surprisingly, however, the traditional shelter system is where Victoria Adoptables got its start.

While volunteering at the CRD Pound, Carol Broad saw that the organization needed a better website, so she started one and invited other rescue agencies she knew to join. Shortly thereafter, with her friend and fellow animal rescue volunteer Diane Kurtz, Broad began fostering rescued dogs in her home—walking them, taking them to vet appointments and matching them up with families through the site. When they were joined by Cyndy Talbot, owner of a local web-design company, she helped bring the site into the 21st century. Now they’re able to recruit fostering volunteers, raise funds through online auctions, and provide links to trainers and other related services. They’ve also helped raise the profile of domestic animal issues like the mandatory spay-neuter bylaw debate between breeders, rescues, vets and pet owners.

“Victoria Adoptables has shone the light on the smaller rescues on the Island that virtually no one had heard of before, and that didn’t have any resources,” says Talbot. “While the SPCA stands on its own, all these other rescues didn’t have much of a voice.” Those groups include agencies like Cat’s Cradle (which socializes feral cats and have re-homed 67 of the 100 they’ve saved from euthanasia since they began) and Dog Bless Rescue (which coordinates with shelters in the U.S. to move their large volume of small dogs to Victoria, where they have a better chance of being adopted since they’re in higher demand here). The Victoria Adoptables crew also home-fosters dogs, mostly from smaller shelters up-Island, and communities with high volumes of strays in the North.

“Once you get involved in the animal rescue community,” says Broad, “[building a network] just seems to happen. You find each other.” As we sit around a pot of tea in Broad’s living room, a water dish crashes in the other room, and we all laugh over the scramble of puppy feet that follows. But despite momentary bliss, these three remain mindful of how much patience and devotion it takes to truly rehabilitate the animals they find. “People know that it’s beautiful to have a dog or a cat to cuddle up with and go for walks with, but it’s a lot of time and effort to build a great relationship with your animal,” says Kurtz. Animals that have been abused and neglected, she affirms, will act that way, and many people don’t recognize that in addition to adopting a rescue, you have to rehabilitate it.

Today, animal rescue and rehabilitation is increasingly a home-based endeavour, and the kennel approach is predominantly the way of the CRD Pound and the SPCA. Although SPCA animals get overnight visits at loving homes, animals that get full-time home foster respond very differently, says Broad. In the middle of our chat, Broad has to excuse herself to say goodbye to Echo, a rowdy and big-hearted golden lab mix puppy who loves to counter-surf, and was taken home by new owners during our interview. Through home fostering he had access to ample social interaction with humans, and his own kind. “It’s a world of difference,” says Broad, “because [an animal can] totally relax, which allows their real personality to shine through.”

In addition to addressing the animal’s health, Broad, Kurtz and Talbot all agree they need time to understand a new dog’s trauma, and special behaviours, in order to make a lifelong match. New fosters stay in their care for at least a month before being posted to the site. Echo, for example, had never been indoors before, and understanding the extent of his training requirements meant observing his counter-surfing techniques for a while. In that time, a trainer or animal behaviourist writes an assessment of the dog’s progress, and likely future needs, which forms part of the posting on the site. “What makes us really unique is that we do the spay, neuter, deflea, tattoo, deworm—you name it—beforehand, and we attach obedience classes to our adoptions. Because we don’t believe you can do it all on your own,” adds Talbot. A potential adopter also spends a day or two, or at least an overnight, with a dog, before it becomes final.

By being attentive and selective, Victoria Adoptables sticks by their belief that they work for the animals. A set of sweet, shining eyes may get an animal adopted, but these extra steps help ensure that it’s forever. M