Puppy Rescue is a costly endeavour

Rescuing abused or abandoned animals can be a high-cost project.

Paul and Sharron Purdy of Moosonee Puppy Rescue has been rescuing dogs for over 16 years and they say they have been rescuing hundreds of dogs from the First Nation community of Attawapiskat.

Sharron says the rescued dogs are flown from Attawapiskat to Timmins where they are then driven to the Muskoka region. The

cost can run from $200-$420 for flights alone.

The couple says they have rescued nearly 1,600 dogs from northern communities and Sharron says Attawapiskat is the most expensive site to retrieve animals.

The retired couple says they spend nearly 16 hours a day working on this effort and have since helped set up three spay-neuter clinics in Attawapiskat though now focus on bringing injured animals to this area since Attawapiskat lacks consistent veterinarian services.

In addition to flight costs, the couple often endures expensive surgery costs.

“If we don’t take them, someone up there has to watch them suffer in pain because there is absolutely no choice. There are no vet services in these remote areas. We do send whatever meds we can to paramedics and to our rescue workers so they can deal with the pain to some degree for a little while, but the suffering these dogs have if they are not attended to. We’re their only option right now and it is very expensive,”  Purdy said.

“We could n0t do what we do if it weren’t without the vets in Parry Sound. They’ve worked with us for nearly 9 years, ” she said.

While the Moosonee Puppy Rescue is able to fund their project through adoption services and sale proceeds from pet-related gift sales, the assistance they get from local businesses is based on forged relationships.

While resuing dogs is often a passion project for some, the duty itself tends to be emotionally demanding of rescuers.

The Parry Sound Veterinary Clinic says they are selective of who it aligns itself with because of high-demands from increasing organizations that provide an animal rescue service.  According to Parry Sound Vet, Dr. Peter Jones, often expectations of some rescuers become greater as the generosity of the clinic increases.

“We provide services to them (Moosonee Puppy Rescue) on a cost recovery basis to help them,” he said.

The Vet clinic says they are happy to help Moosonee Puppy Rescue because they have established a trust based relationship over the course of several years.