Manitoba animal rescue seeks help after dogs left behind in wildfire evacuations
WINNIPEG — An animal rescue organization in Manitoba has sent a letter to Indigenous Services Canada asking for help with hundreds of dogs left behind when two First Nations communities were evacuated last month due to fire.
Debra Vandekerkhove, the director of Norway House Animal Rescue, estimates about 700 dogs — 200 in Pauingassi and 500 in Little Grand Rapids — were stranded after a wildfire forced about 1,400 people to flee.
In the letter dated June 7, Vandekerkhove wrote that the situation for the dogs has become dire and, if left unchanged, will continue to deteriorate. Many younger dogs have already died and the ones left need to be removed, she said.
There is also a concern that the dogs are forming larger, more aggressive packs.