Watch above: A Martensville man is working to get his horse back into Canada after he travelled with it to the United States. Amber Rockliffe looks at what you need to know when crossing the border with animals.
SASKATOON – Ray Kneeland, 73, went down to Arizona to spend some quality time with his horse Blaze under the desert sun. However, after two horses in Arizona came down with the contagious vesicular stomatitis virus, he was left facing a $600 federal veterinary bill to get Blaze checked after already paying a $180 bill.
“We had to have our horse’s blood tested, which she proved negative, because those horses were two hours south of us. We were nowhere near the infected horses,” Kneeland explained.
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The virus causes blister-like sores on the mouths, noses and feet of infected animals.
“I told the vets ‘well that’s it, I can’t afford to go get her, I’ll have to just leave her,'” Kneeland said.
READ MORE: CBSA – What you can’t bring over the border
Kneeland runs the OK Corral riding arena and pavilion in Martensville, Sask. and has spent years raising money for the Kinsmen Telemiracle. His family and friends said Kneeland has dedicated his life to helping others and it was the community’s turn to give back to him.
They’ve set up a GoFundMe page to help him out. The gesture brought him to tears.
“Well it just feels super. It’s really nice,” Kneeland said.
He was forced to leave Blaze down in Wyoming for a 21-day hold, but now that the hold is up, he’s heading down to pick up Blaze over the weekend and bring her home.
Within several days, the campaign raised more than $2,000. Kneeland said any extra money will be donated to the Kinsmen Telemiracle.
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