It was a joyous day for humans and dogs at YVR, as over 100 rescue dogs from the United States were flown to Vancouver to be matched up with a forever family.
“I’m feeling a bit like a kid at Christmas morning. Exciting and anxious, and it’s phenomenal,” said Susan Patterson, the founder of Thank Dog I Am Out.
Patterson started the organization in 2014, after being appalled to find out that thousands of dogs were being killed in California every week.
“In southern California – on a good day, they might be killing 600 dogs per day. In the state of California, they kill 6,000 dogs per week,” she said.
There were so many applications to adopt the dogs that many people were told they had to wait until the next adoption event. But those approved left YVR with a new member of the family.
Although Patterson does all she can to ensure the best adoption plans for Canadians, Victoria’s Capital Region District (CRD) warns residents to err on the side of caution when considering adopting out of province animals.
“We can’t stress enough about knowing the dog’s history,” said Don Brown, Chief Bylaw and Animal Care Officer at CRD.
Patterson says the pre-approval process is extensive, and they’re hopeful all the matches will be good fits.
“Our home checkers are here, our behaviourists are here. We have a really good idea of the kind of match they’re looking for. It’s not perfect, we strive to be perfect, we do the very best we can.”
It was the second year for the event – and Patterson is confident it will continue.
“I am a person with a dream with an incredible team of volunteers that believe a dog is a dog and it’s not defined by the border between the U.S. and Canada.”
– With files from April Johnson and Jill Bennett
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