The NWT SPCA had something to look forward to this week and it was perfect timing with National Pet Day, which occurred on April 11.
On a sunny Wednesday afternoon outside their shelter came a truck packed with four students from St. Patrick’s High School.
John White was the man behind the wheel and the teacher of those four students. He explained they were at the shelter donating animal houses his students had been building for the past couple of weeks.
“This was a project in our leadership and resiliency program at St. Pat’s,” White explained. “It’s a class for Indigenous students to teach them valuable skills and how to become leaders in our communities.”
Part of that program includes community service, White said, and his students decided as a group they wanted to help pets.
“We though it’d be a good idea, as a class, to learn some construction skills and teamwork skills, and be able to donate our finished project,” he said.
For White, he said it’s been great seeing his students band together for a good cause.
Despite the learning curve, none of them quit.
“A lot of laughter and a lot of perseverance,” he noted.
Jaylyn Gaudet and Liyah Yakeleya-Grymaloski, both in Grade 9, were two of the students helped build these houses. For Gaudet, she stressed it was no easy task.
“It was hard, really hard,” she laughed, noting that drilling was a sure challenge.
Yakeleya-Grymaloski has been in the shelter before and said the animals were cute. When asked how they feel about their accomplishment, the answer was simple: happy.
“Happy they have a house to be in,” said Gaudet.
Samantha Laviolette, who works at the SPCA, said being a responsible pet owner is as personal as it is important.
“I, like most people, just was like ‘Oh yeah, I want a dog’,” she explained. “He ended up being super reactive. I had to pivot and learn a lot about dogs to meet his needs.”
That was back in 2018, when she adopted her pet also from the SPCA. Since then, she said she’s gained tons of experience working with dogs and what it means to be a responsible pet owner. For her, it comes down to communication.
“To be a responsible dog owner, especially, we need to understand what our dogs are trying to communicate to us,” she said. “They are brought into our world, but don’t necessarily want to play by our rules.”
Laviolette also mentioned her job can be pretty emotional, but there is a payoff to the work she does.
“It’s always nice when people, months or years down line, reach out and let us know what their dogs they’ve adopted form us are doing,” Laviolette said, adding that she’s seen her fair share of Facebook posts that celebrate the pets adopted from the SPCA.
“Just thinking about where they started and what situations they came from and watching them adventure across Canada and do these things is really heartwarming.”
