Meet the Saskatoon Shelter Owners Saving Saskatchewan Animals. – and beyond

A local animal rescue gears up for their busy time as the weather cools – and they aim to raise money for a larger facility.

Hanna’s Haven rehabilitates the animals and finds them homes.

Brian and Laura MacKay currently have 25 dogs in their shelter which also doubles as a home.

Because of this, they don’t have a lot of usable living room as the dogs are part of their family and take up most of the furniture and their dining room is home to a dozen kennels full of dogs.

The Mackays have been rescuing and finding new homes for animals for 15 years.

The name Hana was the name of the first dog they rescued. They mainly accommodate dogs, but sometimes they catch deer or even horses.

Most of them have health problems like Callie who is blind with severe cataracts or Skylar who is in a cast after being hit by a car; this scenario is not uncommon for them.

Someone drove a car over three-year-old Shania in Saskatoon, they say.

The owner couldn’t pay the vet’s bills, so delivered her to the MacKays in hopes of eventually getting her back.

“She has massive pelvic injuries and a crushed left femur and hip as well as severe lung damage, so she is strictly resting at the kennel,” MacKay said.

Returning cared for animals to good health costs money, as do basic procedures like spaying or spaying and deworming.

“Often, on our own bank account, it costs between $ 15,000 and $ 20,000 a year.”

A fraction comes from fundraising and local vets offering discounts. They have one GoFundMe page.

trying to raise money to move their shelter operation to a larger building.

They have big plans to expand what they are doing to include at-risk children in the program.

“Every dog ​​thirsts for love; every child thirsts for love. We would have trainers to teach them how to train dogs. What an experience for these kids to be able to do this, ”Mackay said.

They have more dogs now, due to COVID-19. The MacKays say they get eight calls a day about owners wanting to abandon their pandemic puppy. Cold is also a factor.

“Right now we’re a little panicked to get the animals out of there because it’s very cold and they’re freezing,” she says.

That’s because most of their rescues are from northern Saskatchewan. They also partner with shelters there.

Ten of the 25 dogs currently housed in their home have been shipped from Ghana. The Mackays say they were saved from the meat trade.

Their laundry room is usually their puppy room, but now they call it “Ghana’s room”.

They have received inquiries from Iraq and Qatar, where rescue facilities want to protect dogs in difficult situations.

They are becoming well known around the world and one of the most popular relief services when people check online.

The MacKays both have day jobs and luckily 125 volunteers are involved to help take care of the animals.

The new building would ideally be on an area, but they are working with a real estate agent to find a warehouse with a lot of space that could be renovated to include a large bathroom and have enough space for the dogs to run around and play. .

Ultimately, a new, bigger space would help them help more animals in need.