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THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
Chris Esser is so dedicated to the welfare of animals that she gives up her lunch hours four days a week to volunteer at the Fort Smith Animal Shelter.

"I usually eat at my desk," she said with a laugh.

The 43-year-old has been volunteering on and off at the shelter for about 10 years and has done the lunch-hour shift for several years, along with occasionally helping out on weekends.

"I'm an animal lover and I also really believe in volunteering. I was raised that way," she said. "I was raised as volunteering being part of life and part of everyday life."

Four times a week - Monday through Thursday - she can be found at the shelter, where she lets the dogs out, cleans pens and feeds the animals, if necessary.

"It's only been the last few years where I've gotten more heavily involved, because I've dropped off a little bit in my other volunteer activities," she said.

Since she arrived in Fort Smith about 18 years ago, Esser, who was born in Quebec and grew up in Alberta from the time she was six, has been involved in a number of volunteer activities, such as coaching, the paddling club and the library board.

"Right now, I'm on the rec board, as well, but this one is my passion," she said of helping out at the shelter, which takes in dogs and cats.

Esser goes even further to show her love of animals - she personally owns nine dogs and two cats. Almost all her dogs came from the shelter, the exception being a retired cattle dog from Alberta.

She lives at Salt River - outside the municipal boundary of Fort Smith - and is not bound by the town's two-dog bylaw and can take home as many dogs as she likes.

"I wouldn't recommend it. It's not easy," she said. "It is a lot of work and I think most people shouldn't have more than two dogs, because that's enough."

Esser said the temptation to take dogs home is one of the things that keep some people from volunteering at the animal shelter.

"But all I can say is, our volunteers, their focus isn't to take them all home," she said. "It's to find them all homes and to give them as much of a home as we can in the meantime."

Esser said the number one concern that keeps some people from volunteering is they don't feel they have the time. But that is not something anyone should worry about, she said.

"Our volunteers give as much or as little time as they can. So even if it's half an hour a week or half an hour a month, it makes a huge difference to us. You could walk a dog once a month and it makes a difference to their life."

She said another concern she hears a lot is that a shelter is a "heartbreaking" place to volunteer.

"A lot of people think of shelters as a place where dogs are put down, and it does happen occasionally, but not very often. This shelter does amazing work at re-placing and re-homing dogs," she said, adding the heartbreak is far outweighed by the rewards.

"We put dogs with homes and make families. Every time we rescue a dog, it just makes it worthwhile. Even if we educate one person each year, it's worth it."

One of the recent successes is Moose, a large Lab who ended up at the shelter overweight and with medical issues. The shelter put him on a diet and provided medical care, and now he's being adopted by a resident of Behchoko.

"This is what we live for," Esser said. "We thought we'd never place him, just because he's so huge and he's got health issues."

She said the Fort Smith Animal Shelter was started because of the efforts of key people, especially Dixie Penner and the late Lillian Kristensen. The shelter started about 30 years ago in Kristensen's backyard. From there, it later moved to the Town of Fort Smith's yard, and then it moved to its current location in town in about 2000.

Esser said all volunteers are important to the shelter's success.

"We have a lot of devoted volunteers," she said. "I have immense, immense pride of being part of this, and I have a lot of respect for our volunteers."

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