Yellowknife vet Michelle Tuma has actually been working relentlessly throughout the city’s evacuation to make sure animal owners were geared up with dog crates and other requirements for their animals.
On Monday, there was a small modification of speed. She assisted 16 more animals board a flight to safety sponsored by a vodka business.
Tuma says the concept followed Maggie McGuane connected to the NWT SPCA to use her assistance. McGuane is the child of Yellowknife-born star Margot Kidder, best understood for playing Lois Lane in the Superman films of the 1970s and 80s.
McGuane operates in animal catastrophe reaction and is linked to Wings of Rescue, an organization that assists move animals in between shelters or to adoptive houses.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
“When she heard about the mass evacuations happening in the Northwest Territories – and especially in Yellowknife, where it’s really close to her heart because this is where her mom’s from – she decided to reach out to us,” explained Tuma.
Initially, Tuma said, the aircraft was to utilize McGuane’s help to get shelter animals to safety. However, those animals wound up on a Buffalo Airways flight.
With the shelter animals left, Tuma – who says she is the only practising veterinarian left in Yellowknife – discussed her function in the city with the GNWT, who identified her to be an important employee, suggesting she might remain past the evacuation order to continue assisting animals left.
Knowing there were animals still in the territorial capital and Hay River, Tuma reconnected with McGuane. On the resulting flight were 6 cats and 3 dogs from Yellowknife along with 4 cats from Hay River. As a benefit, 2 snakes from Great Slave Animal Hospital signed up with as guests.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
“They’ve been trying to move them to their retirement homes for years now, but could never find a place to take them, or an airline to take them,” said Tuma.
“We kind-of saw this as an opportunity to take them, finally, so the two snakes are on their way to their retirement home in Calgary.”
Most animals on the flight are on their method to be reunited with their owners, though some were abandoned, said Tuma. Those will be gotten by regional shelters AARCS in Calgary and the BCSPCA in Vancouver.
Tuma says she is uncertain the number of animals stay in Yellowknife. She approximates around 30, consisting of some being looked after by buddies of their owners.
It takes a town
Evacuating animals in 2 various towns is not a simple task, nor a low-cost one. Tuma understood the flight couldn’t go unsupported and dealt with Wings of Rescue to secure Tito’s Handmade Vodka as a sponsor.
The vodka company pledged $10,000 to sponsor the flight, said Tuma, making it possible to get the animals to safety.
It wasn’t simply Tuma and Wings of Rescue pursuing the safety of the animals, however. The flight needed to over night in Edmonton prior to flying to Yellowknife – and while there, it was equipped loaded with products like dog food and cat litter by Cameron from Yellowknife’s Cheeky Chops Pet Salon.
“It was just really nice. The flight came up with supplies on it, we offloaded those and loaded the animals, and then they were on their way,” said Tuma.
“And now we keep doing what we can to keep the animals still here safe. It’s been really amazing to witness everybody just coming together as a community. There’s so little people left here but we’re staying safe and being vigilant, and doing what we can for all the pets through Vets Without Borders and the NWT SPCA.”
The Wings of Rescue flight left Yellowknife on Monday early morning prior to landing in Hay River to get the feline guests. From Hay River, it was anticipated to drop some animals in Calgary then head to its last location of Vancouver.
