About the Project

Our most recent initiative was our journey to Cross Lake First Nation in the north of Manitoba. We collaborated with Manitoba Animal Alliance (MAA), an organization that has created a trusting relationship with the community, which made working as a team with the people there simple and productive. There is much more strength when people come together and all perspectives are respected. This was our third time going up to work directly off a reserve in that area (twice in Cross Lake and once in Norway House) and we are always astonished by what we can accomplish with our team. MAA works in these northern communities often, and we have collided energies in the past through intaking dogs in need of rescue placements, helping run vaccination campaigns, and fundraising for their spay and neuter campaigns (preventative action is such an integral piece of dog betterment).

This was a big project for us. It took a lot of planning — sorting out the logistics, finding available & experienced volunteers, securing supplies, finalizing our donation drive for the community, and setting up foster homes & adoption trials ahead of time. A trip like this means many hands in the pot and a heck ton of volunteer energy output. It’s also a collaborative effort between Save Our Scruff and other organizations interested in taking on a typical dog or puppy from up North with minimal info. The intake side of this trip was very different from most other Scuff intakes, as we were part of taking the dogs straight off the street or from owners who reached out for help. This means these dogs haven’t been in shelter or foster care to be assessed behaviourally and have little to zero past vetting.

In the end, we were able to relocate 71 dogs into safe and comfortable homes. Of that number, 36 dogs were brought back into Save Our Scruff care, while the others went to other amazing organizations such as the Humane Society, Petsave, Northern Critters In Need, and Niagara Dog Rescue. Most of these dogs are currently settling into foster homes, and many are moms with young litters.

Although it's easy to focus on the dogs we bring back on these trips, it's important to acknowledge the work with the community we are doing and their desire to collaborate, lead and be guided by us. Three of the mothers with litters we brought back with us will be returned back home to their loving families once their pups are weaned and ready for adoption. This cannot happen without trust, and we are beyond grateful that the families of these mother dogs trusted us to take such good care of them while they did the same for their puppies.

Focusing a lot of time and energy on community outreach meant we were able to identify and connect with many families who were interested in the support we had to give. This trip specifically could have used more time, and an extra truck! MAA did not back down from the need and was able to put another weekend into their calendar to support this area. This is such a testament to the ripple effect of this type of initiative, and simply means more dogs will be safe and warm this winter!

The trip itself started early in the morning on October 21. The approximately 40-hour drive (with two nights at rest stops) was done with a cube van full of plastic travel crates ready for dogs, and an RV.

We arrived late Friday evening, and Saturday morning we got right to it. We unloaded all the donations we sent up for the dogs into a storage container, and all donation drive pieces were picked up. We created a space for dogs to be dropped off and community members to come chat with us about what we were up to. Another team knocked on doors, introducing ourselves as a support network for dogs in the area, and took in dogs that were signed off by owners or community members as strays or pets that they could no longer care for. And on October 24, the team began the drive back to Ontario, but this time, with the sometimes loud and always smelly dogs in the back of the van! Honestly, we loved every minute of it.

The dogs arrived in the GTA on October 26, where they were then transported to their last leg of their freedom rides, into carefully screened foster homes and adoption trials. Some of these dogs will be up for adoption very soon — so keep an eye out!

Help us support these dogs as they transition into life in foster homes. If you wish to make a donation, you can do so using the button below.