Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Friday, June 8, 2007

NAHANNI BUTTE - After almost two years of volunteer service, the three students who opened the Nahanni Butte Animal Shelter are closing the doors.

Bhreagh Ingarfield, Kyra Tanche and Kayla Betsaka opened the shelter in the fall of 2005 to help animals in the community. This fall they are leaving Nahanni Butte to pursue their Grade 11 education, which isn't offered at the Charles Yohin school, and as a result they are closing the shelter.

Although the girls tried to train a few students, Ingarfield said they decided it wasn't fair to put the responsibility onto younger people.

"It's hard unless they have a passion for the work," she said.

Making the decision to close the shelter, however, wasn't easy, said Ingarfield. It's hard when you see dogs that need help, she said.

"I believe we're just going to have to say that we can't help," Ingarfield said.

For Ingarfield, the idea of a shelter started when she noticed a dog in Nahanni Butte that had a malformed mouth and couldn't eat properly. The animal ended up dying either of starvation or of exposure.

"It left me feeling like something could have been done," she said.

The dog might have survived if it had received medical treatment but its owners didn't have the time to help it, said Ingarfield.

Kyra Tanche and Kayla Betsaka became interested in the idea of a shelter after seeing a number of dogs being shot, she said.

After they opened the shelter, it became a time consuming effort. The girls faced a number of incidents including breakouts of parvo and mange.

"You don't really have time to think of what's coming up," she said.

In total the shelter helped approximately 30 dogs. About half of the dogs were flown to Edmonton to find homes. The rest are currently being transferred to the Calgary Humane Society.

Rescuing the dogs wouldn't have been possible without the help of a variety of businesses and people, said Ingarfield.

"I don't think there is much more we could ask from many of the people who have helped us," she said.

Wolverine Air was always willing to transport dogs without a second thought, she said.

"It's so rare you find someone who will do that right away," said Ingarfield.

Air Tindi also flew dogs and Canadian North is currently flying dogs for free to Calgary. The Great Slave Animal Hospital and the NWT SPCA also provided help and covered costs of some treatments.

Local residents such as Lois Martin, Brian and Terry Jaffray and Nancy Noseworthy, also donated crates to help move dogs.

"I don't know what it is about the North that seems to attract really good people," she said.

Ingarfield, 15, hopes that the community has benefited from having the shelter.

"I hope it's left somewhat of an example," she said.

When the shelter opened, many people came to ask about the health of various dogs and reminders for when to get their dogs vaccinated. But even now there are misinformed rumours in the community about dog care, she said.

She also worries about people getting puppies.

"It's kind of never-ending, the whole puppy thing. They don't want a dog, they want a puppy," she said.

The shelter has made a difference, said Janet Pacey, the president of the NWT SPCA in Yellowknife.

"We commend the girls for what they did. I know they had a lot of sleepless nights," said Pacey.

Pacey said she has seen the girls develop while running the shelter. In the beginning, especially during the parvo outbreak, the girls were a bit unorganized, said Pacey. Now with the removal of a number of dogs to Calgary, the girls were able to do all the planning, she said.

While running the shelter, Ingarfield said they have seen and learned a lot, some of it lighthearted.

"If a dog can chew it, it will," she said with a smile.

Ingarfield will be continuing her studies in Yellowknife while Tanche and Betsaka are going to Grande Prairie.