One of the things I love about the pet community is the love we share for our animals. After children, there is nothing we can add to our lives that offers as big a return as pets. They deserve every bit of pampering we give them.
Like people, however, pets do suffer from being unhoused. For these pets who, through no fault of their own, are at risk, there is a special group of pet lovers who go above and beyond what is expected, volunteering their time and money to finding pets a loving home.
I’ve written many times about these wonderful souls, and a few times about specific rescues, their people and their upcoming events.
You’ve likely heard of D’Arcy’s ARC (Animal Rescue Centre), located at 730B Century St. (on Route 90 just past Ellice Avenue ). One of the few registered charitable animal rescues, it is a large, permanent facility with a considerable overhead, all of which is 100 per cent funded by charitable donations.
This rescue, founded by D’Arcy Johnston, has served the community for more than 20 years, finding countless homes for pets and providing shelter for them during that search.
The not-for-profit world is tough, and providing for the well-being of animals on top of that is even more demanding, so any assistance D’Arcy’s ARC can get from pet lovers is welcome. Their website – www.darcysarc.ca ¬ contains a wish list of items the animals need, including clumping, unscented cat litter, canned cat food, stainless steel cat and dog bowls, plastic or rubber toys, dog and cat treats and litter pans (medium or large). If you have any of these, or want to purchase and donate them, they are always welcome.
Some of the D’Arcy’s ARC volunteers are holding a Darts for D’Arcy’s fundraiser on April 15, which sounds like it will be a fun time. It’s being held at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 2, which is located at 1613 Logan Ave. (Funny story: we heard about the last event (before COVID) and were going to attend. We arrived at about 7 in the evening, only to find it was already over. We had misread the information and thought it started starting at 8:30 p.m. when, in fact, it was 8:30 a.m. Oops.)
So, yes, registration starts at 8:30 a.m. and games start at 9:30 a.m. There will be a silent auction, a 50/50 draw, a poker derby and a pet toy drive, where each donation of a new pet toy will get you a ticket to win a $25 Liquor Marts gift card. For more information, you can contact Carrie McDonald at 204-590-8530. (This time, Jackie and I will be there on time.)
There are so many different groups out there doing wonderful things for animals, and they all deserve to get mentioned, and I wish I could. You will often see in these pages animals up for adoption, or other fundraising events, and I encourage you to support them however and whenever you can. Every little bit helps, and you can be assured that the people running these groups appreciate any assistance you can offer.
