An 82-year-old Moncton man battling cancer is still managing to help his four-legged friends in need.
In between chemotherapy treatments, Bill MacLean somehow finds the time and energy to visit with dogs at the Moncton SPCA. He said he’s bonded in particular with the growing number of seniors dogs in the shelter.
“Some are up on their back legs barking at me, ‘are you here to take me out, take me out.’ It just breaks your heart. I wish I could take them all out at once,” MacLean said.
MacLean doesn’t allow his bad leg or lung cancer diagnosis stop him from visiting the dogs, which he tries to do at least once a week. He said he does so in memory of his own dog, Angus, who was his best friend for more than 14 years before he died of old age.
“I just love dogs mainly because of Angus,” said MacLean, who started volunteering at the SPCA about a year after Angus passed away.
It’s something Moncton SPCA executive director Dave Rogers has noticed.
“I think coming in here now and looking after these dogs, that is an extension of his dog and that’s how he gets through his day,” Rogers said.
“The enjoyment of it takes over for my lack of energy.” said MacLean, who just recently finished up his chemotherapy treatments in PEI.
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MacLeans tears up saying he has a soft spot for the senior dogs at the shelter, some of which have been there for as long as two years.
“My heart goes out to them for being alone in the winter time. Very few people will come around to entertain them,” MacLean said.
“When you consider some of the dogs have spent 10 years in a home and they are thrust into what is paramount to being in jail, it can be hard for the dogs to adjust to being in the shelter,” said Rogers.
He believes that some of the senior dogs are kept alive by MacLean’s visits.
MacLean has a soft spot for one of the senior dogs named Poppy.
“He is 15 years old like Angus and he is not well,” said MacLean.
He said he wishes he could adopt Poppy himself, but said he spends too much time in treatment at the hospital to have a dog of his own.
“They don’t take dogs in the hospital.”
He hopes that more people can find it in their hearts to adopt the seniors now at the shelter, who still have plenty of love to give.
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