HAY RIVER - Kate Osted has loved animals since she was a little girl.

Kate Osted, the president of the Hay River SPCA, relaxes at home with her two dogs, Max and Chinook. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

The president of the Hay River Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has an old photo of herself and a Grade 3 classmate holding pets they entered in a fall fair.

The pets were actually snails they had found in a ravine along the Hay River.

"I took them back when we were done," Osted said.

She was elected to a one-year term as SPCA president in June and has been a member of the organization for about three years.

Osted, 39, said she is involved in the SPCA for the love of animals.

"To be able to help those who don't have what we have," she said.

As SPCA president, she is leading the organization at a significant time in its history.

In August, it established an animal shelter at the municipal dog pound through an agreement with the Town of Hay River.

The agreement is to run to the end of 2009 and then be considered for renewal.

Osted said she is "very hopeful" it will be renewed.

"Everybody really wants it to work and we want it to be right," she said.

The SPCA has submitted a proposal to renew the agreement for another year and is awaiting a response from the town.

Without that arrangement, Osted said the SPCA would have to return to its previous way of caring for animals awaiting adoption - having them taken care of in foster homes.

"One of our main goals is to find a suitable home for the animals that come through our system," she said, adding that includes dogs and cats.

Since August, more than 100 cats and dogs have gone through the shelter.

It is a no-kill shelter, Osted said. "We try everything we can to make sure the animal can have a life somewhere."

Animals from Hay River have even been sent to Yellowknife, Manitoba, Alberta and B.C.

Osted said running the shelter is hard work and the SPCA is learning a lot, such as how to training all volunteers in proper animal care.

The society is always looking for more volunteers, she added, saying there is a good, hardworking core group of 15 to 20 volunteers.

As SPCA president, Osted has seen many mistreated animals.

"It's entirely unnecessary," she said, adding, when she sees a neglected or mistreated animal, she feels there are human beings who need to be educated.

"In some cases, it's infuriating," she said.

Osted said she believes the SPCA is making a difference in Hay River.

The association conducts spaying and neutering blitzes to help people pay for those procedures.

However, she said a misconception about the SPCA is that it can respond to calls about neglected dogs.

"We have no authority to go onto people's property and seize dogs. We can't do that," she said, adding that is the job of the town's bylaw officer.

Osted herself has dogs and a cat.

They bring peace, comfort, entertainment and joy to her home, even though it might sound hectic to own pets, she said. "When you've had a stressful day at work, the nicest thing is to come home and be loved by creatures who don't care how your day was."

Osted, who was born and raised in Hay River, works as a counsellor at Princess Alexandra School.