An 11-year-old North Vancouver girl is improving the lives of rescue animals around the world, one treat at a time.
Haela St-Louis loves animals.
She and her mom have already adopted one cat, an elderly Chihuahua and a hamster named Hammy Houdini.
“Because he escaped death several times before I was able to rescue him,” St-Louis explained in an email interview.
They have also re-homed two cats from Vancouver Orphan Kitty Rescue (VOKRA) and a rabbit from the BC SPCA.
Now, St-Louis has found a way to raise money for rescue organizations by starting thebarkingbakery.ca.
“My love for pets inspired me to start this project,” she said. “I love baking and when I realized that the pet treat industry made tens of millions of dollars a year, I thought people would love to buy treats that helped out homeless and abused pets. I know I would buy those treats.”
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St-Louis said 100 per cent of the proceeds from the treats sold go to rescue organizations and she started by using her birthday money to buy the ingredients.
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They have already been able to donate to VOKRA, RAPS Sanctuary, SOS Prairie in Saskatchewan, @niallharbison (Thailand), BC SPCA, Furever Freed, and Ronnie Animal Rescue Shelter in the U.S., just to name a few.
And she said that is just the beginning.
“I feel that if I donate to shelters, I will be able to reduce animal suffering locally and also around the world,” St-Louis said.
Anyone who wants to buy treats can send a DM to their Instagram page or text orders to 604-366-8412.
St-Louis said people can also place orders to be delivered to cat and dog shelters as donations. Their treats are also available at Catoro Cat Cafe in Vancouver.
![Click to play video: '9 puppies rescued after ‘amazing mom’ leads B.C. SPCA to her hidden den'](https://i2.wp.com/media.globalnews.ca/videostatic/news/kkagfiuzgb-njuly4tu33/BC_SPCA_rescued_puppies_Agassiz.jpg?w=1040&quality=70&strip=all)
“I truly feel that by reducing animal suffering, we reduce human suffering and increase everyone’s well-being,” St-Louis said.
“I hope to have a shelter myself. Also, I hope I inspire someone else to help reduce animal suffering by making a small food donation, by adopting, by fostering, by any small gesture of kindness.”
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