TORONTO -- Canada鈥檚 northernmost humane society is set to be demolished next year, and the organization is rushing to raise $1 million in hopes of building a new facility to serve all of Nunavut.
The Iqaluit Humane Society has been around for 13 years and re-homes up to 700 pets every year, often to other parts of Canada. The facility is currently home to 23 dogs in a space the size of a bachelor apartment, but that鈥檚 set to change.
The City of Iqaluit owns the property and recently notified the humane society that the aging building, which has a mold problem, needs to be torn down because it is condemned. Humane society president Janelle Kennedy said the tear-down is expected in the spring or summer of 2021, and there won鈥檛 be space for them in the new facility.
鈥淭he problem is when you keep your doors open month to month on donations, blood, sweat, tears and puppy breath, we just don鈥檛 have the money to build something for ourselves,鈥� Kennedy told CTVNews.ca on Thursday morning.
The facility is the only one of its kind in the territory, serving remote communities in an area of 2 million square kilometres, nearly double the size of Ontario. If the humane society is forced to permanently close, Kennedy fears that local officials will face little choice but to euthanize animals with nowhere else to go.
鈥淭he only choice they have is basically a shotgun and a dump. That鈥檚 the choice. And that鈥檚 not a choice that anyone wants to have to make,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e will fight tooth and nail that it doesn鈥檛 have to come to that, but we鈥檙e not going to get there without funds.鈥�
In hopes of saving the humane society from closing, with a goal of $1 million. Already, more than $10,000 has been raised.
The money will be used to construct a new building and pay staff, but organizers say they鈥檙e working on a tight timeline with limited spaces to rebuild. Even if they find a plot of land with appropriate zoning for housing animals, it could take months to build the new facility.
Kennedy, who is currently fostering two two-week-old puppies in her home, estimates it will cost at least $400,000 to build a proper facility, a steep price tag linked to the high cost of shipping building materials by boat. If they raise less than that, they hope to make things work.
鈥淲e know what it鈥檚 like to find scraps of lumber at the dump and leftover stairs and a workable old steel door to make do,鈥� Kennedy said.
The ultimate goal is for the facility to function beyond simply re-homing animals. Plans to offer grooming, dog training and first aid will help the facility be financially sustainable in the future.
And while the facility is geared toward helping animals, Kennedy says it also plays an important role in helping the people of Nunavut. The humane society currently operates programs with the local prison and schools, and pets have long been used in therapeutic settings for people鈥檚 mental health.
In a territory with Canada鈥檚 highest suicide rates, Kennedy says she鈥檚 personally witnessed the transformative power of animals.
鈥淚鈥檝e personally taken some teens on the verge of suicide and taken them to shelter, and they take a lot of meaning out of caring for something other than themselves in that moment,鈥� she said.
She also pointed to the Inuit鈥檚 traditional relationship with dogs and Canada鈥檚 troubled role in the deaths of thousands of sled dogs in the region, known as qimmiit. In an apology last August, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett acknowledged Canada鈥檚 "participation in the processes that resulted in the loss of qimmiit, which were key to your culture, survival, and community health.鈥�
Kennedy said that losing the humane society would only add to that hurt.
"There is a lot of healing that has to take place in Nunavut between people and dogs and remembering their culture and history and language with dogs, and we want to be part of that too,鈥� she said.
In the meantime, the humane society has applied for which invites Northern communities to submit stories of extraordinary contributions made to their communities. The humane society says it has received a letter of support from the city to bolster its application.
This is not the first time the humane society has faced challenges. In 2011, the facility said it was set to close down due to lack of money and staff to keep operations going. Kennedy said that a new board helped revive efforts to keep the facility afloat, but they find themselves in a similarly dire position today.
鈥淲e always joked and said, will someone rescue our rescue?鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e facing a new crisis.鈥�
