Two Kingston families have gone the extra mile for pet adoption.
They’ve joined an Ontario-wide program that aims to adopt stray dogs and cats on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. For many, it’s a case of tourists seeing the animals, and wanting to give them a better life.
Dogs and Cats of the Dominican Republic — or DCDR — is a non-profit agency dedicated to animal care, dignity and rescue. The organization helped bring Fania into Wendy Workman’s life.
“I’ve always felt that animals in need are animals that need to be rescued,” Workman said. “I love them all, so to me there are no borders.
“Love is love. A lot of the dogs that are not in our country have even less hope, because there really aren’t humane societies and other rescue organizations like there are in Canada.”
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Ontario is the only province in Canada with a chapter of Dogs and Cats of the Dominican Republic, which was founded by a tourist from Minnesota. In 2018 alone, the organization brought 366 animals to Ontario, mostly dogs.
Rad Cowen is an adopter, and Daisey is his rescue dog.
“It just started to make no sense to go out and pick up a new dog that someone had bred when there are so many dogs in need of a home, in need of a safe place,” Cowen said. “I guess that was really what got to us at that point. She just has such a gratefulness about her that I’ve not seen in other animals before, other animals that I’ve had.”
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Dogs and Cats of the Dominican Republic also educates, provides foster and emergency medical care and works to enforce and strengthen animal cruelty laws.