A Manitoba animal rescue organization’s work is temporarily on hold after their van windows were smashed over the weekend.
Manitoba Underdogs Rescue’s dashcam footage shows a group of people passing by their vehicles in the early hours of Sunday morning when one of them vandalized the larger van, executive director Jessica Hansen told Global News on Monday.
“It really impacts everything. Our volunteers have been stressed trying to find funds (this summer) and help dogs. We’ve had to turn dogs away because of a lack of funds,” Hansen said.
“We’re already managing that stress, and now we have to worry about vehicles.”
Volunteers were gearing up for a day of spaying and neutering on Sunday when they made the discovery.
The incident meant installing makeshift windows, which caused delays in getting 15 dogs back to their owners in the Interlake region.
“It was a very windy drive. We had very high hopes that the tape and film would hold up on the windows,” Hansen continued.
But it’s the delayed claims and repairs through MPI that could take weeks to settle, which means they can’t respond to calls for help, “whether it’s a stray animal up north, owners that need help, access to vet care if there are more sick or severely injured, and we do get those calls very frequently,” Hansen said.
The donation-funded non-profit serves many remote communities where vet care is limited.
And, with city property crime up over last year, Hansen worries it could happen again.
The Winnipeg Police Service says it’s investigating the St. Vital neighbourhood incident.