Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Mar 04/02) - Linda Eccles doesn't think of herself as an animal lover or even an activist.

For the 42-year-old founder of Inuvik's SPCA, it's all about common sense. When she moved to Inuvik two years ago, she had no intention of starting an SPCA, but she says it quickly became clear to her how badly a local chapter was needed. Now she runs the society with the help of one active volunteer.

News/North: Why did you decide to set up the SPCA in Inuvik?

Linda Eccles: What brought it on was one day my husband and I were walking our dog and we got attacked by a pack of three loose dogs. They tried to go for my dog's back end so we picked him up, because he's just a small dog. We talked to people in town and they said there was a dog problem. That children have had dogs bite them. There's puppies running around everywhere. There's an overpopulation of dogs. So the issue wasn't really being addressed here.

N/N: So you just decided to open an SPCA?

LE: I'd always been involved in the SPCA. I'm from Williams Lake, B.C., and I was involved in helping to get them started there in 1995.

N/N: Why do you think there's so many dogs around?

LE: There's really a few factors at work here that I've come to understand. One is the lack of responsibility of owners with their animals. People like to buy puppies for their kids, then you'll see six-month-old puppies and the owners don't want them any more. They haven't taken the time to train them, the dogs get into trouble and they get booted out. Also, not having a clinic and a vet here certainly doesn't help.

N/N: Dealing with the dog problem here is a big job -- do you ever get fazed by the amount of work ahead?

LE: No, I'm not fazed. It's a long road ahead to the goal we want to achieve at the SPCA but it's happening.

N/N: Do you get bothered by the dogs you see?

LE: Yes. It's very sad. It breaks my heart. I have a really hard time understanding how people can go into their houses and eat their dinners and go to bed and hear the howling of their dogs stuck on a tiny chain by the neck. I don't know how they figure an animal shouldn't have the same care as a human being. It baffles me.

N/N: Have you had any negative feedback from people who don't want you to tell them how to treat their dogs?

LE: No. I haven't had that -- I've been warned of that, and I have not had that. I've had people phone me, really respected elders, phone and say how sad they are to find puppies abandoned and dogs running around.

N/N: What kinds of projects has the SPCA been involved in?

LE: I'm hoping by the end of March to be going into the high school and the elementary school for a Bite-Free program to help children have some safety strategies when they're approached by dogs, and how to take care of dogs.

I want to get a shelter built where animals can come and be taken care of, and people can come down and it would help the area by educating people.

N/N: Where do you get your funding from?

LE: We get money from bake sales, fundraising and membership fees. We also put piggy banks around town to collect money. The money goes toward upkeep of animals when they come in to my home, or to the foster homes. We have about $380 in the bank. We're using that to fly in a vet from Dawson. First Air is covering half the cost for his flight in March, and then they're paying the whole fare in June and September, when he comes up again.

We desperately need funding to get this shelter off the ground. We're talking about setting up a whole shelter -- at least $250,000. We're looking if someone can donate a building.

N/N: What happens right now with the unwanted dogs?

LE: We have a puppy program with the Edmonton SPCA, Calgary SPCA, Whitehorse SPCA and Yellowknife SPCA to ship out animals when space allows it. Air North and Canadian North are sponsoring us so we ship out animals we can't adopt out. Since we started, we've shipped out 36 puppies and we've adopted out six animals.We've also got seven foster homes for unwanted dogs.

N/N: Why do you love dogs?

LE: They're unconditional. They love you back. They don't ask to be with us. We pick them. They're intelligent animals and they should be treated as such. They give so much back. They make you feel happy. I've always had animals and I'm always amazed by what they can do and the things they give back to us.