When Anne Dubé of Rosie Animal Adoption first took charge of Oiler, the dog wasn’t doing well.
Once he was taken to a nearby veterinary ICU, she says they determined that he “was given a substance that could’ve killed him.”
After quite a bit of veterinary care, Dubé is finally convinced he’s going to be okay.
Now, it’s her job to find a family that will give him all the love he deserves. But she doesn’t expect that part to be too hard.
“We’re flooded with applications, we don’t have enough dogs to meet the demand,” she explained. “And most dogs we get, we don’t even have to post, we go through our applications, and we have homes waiting for them.”
In October and November alone, she says 16 new puppies were adopted.
One of those new puppies was Jake, now living with Pierrefonds’s Jennifer Martins and her family.
The family had just been forced to say goodbye to a 10-year-old fluffy friend earlier in the autumn.
“Obviously the house is quiet without the animal you’ve been so accustomed to seeing for the past 10 years,” she told Global News. “And then when you’re working from home, it’s even quieter!”
She and her husband, Charles Cimetier, say taking walks with Jake have been one of their favourite things to do with him.
“Now, he’s giving me that chance to take walks, and actually have to stop and take a break, and go and get some fresh air, and walk him…so we’re getting healthier!” she said.
Meanwhile, down the road in Notre-Dame–de-l’Ile-Perot, Maple has brought smiles and a new opportunity to her new family: Julia Boland and Patrick Latreille.
“It’s a challenge — it’s a lovely challenge, but it’s a challenge,” Boland said of raising Maple. While she and Jake aren’t related, Boland said the two dogs were both rescued from northern Quebec at the same time.
Despite the socialization challenges we’re all dealing with in the pandemic, many are doing their best to get their dogs acclimated to life, in a safe and socially-distant way.
“We’re lucky to have neighbours with a great dog, and so we can open our fence and let them play together,” Boland said.
Once the health crisis fades, someday soon these ‘pandemic pups’ will get to be up-close and personal with everyone they meet for the first time in their lives.
When asked for comment by Global News, both Jake and Maple barked.