DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE
Linda Croft opened her door on March 13 to find a tiny puppy shivering on her front step. A few hours later her daughter called and said either the same puppy had showed up at her home, or it was a different puppy.

Fort Providence resident Linda Croft found this abandoned puppy outside her home on March 14. - photo courtesy of Linda Croft

"No one had come looking or asking," said Croft, who has lived in the community for nearly a decade. "They were both adorable and loving. They were starved and when we fed them they couldn't get it in fast enough. They both had frozen paws and were covered in ice."

For the Fort Providence resident it was the last straw.

Croft started an online petition to get support for a bylaw officer to be hired in the hamlet to help deal with the issue of loose dogs and animal neglect in the community.

The hamlet has a bylaw stating dogs must be tied up, but without a bylaw officer there is no one to enforce it and it hasn't been for at least five years.

In 2009, the hamlet council told the Drum it was exploring the option of hiring a bylaw officer. The hamlet used the services of an out-of-town contractor for loose dog control in the community on occasion. However, the contractor is no longer being used.

"The community needs to educate people more on the proper care of a pet," Croft said. "I don't think it's any longer in society acceptable to tie a dog 24 hours a day, warm or not, outside. There are a lot of dogs that are just tied and left outside. No wonder some of the dogs are vicious when they get lose because they don't know anything about love.

Croft said her husband was attacked in early March by a loose dog while he was delivering fuel to the Snowshoe Inn. She said if he hadn't found a shovel to keep the dog away, he would have needed medical attention. It's not an uncommon occurrence, added Croft.

"Everyone carries sticks so people can walk in the community," she said. "Most of them are friendly, but you just don't know."

To date the petition has 53 signatures. Croft plans to speak to hamlet Mayor Tina Gargan about the issue.

In a letter to the CBC on the issue provided to the Drum by hamlet officials, Gargan said Fort Providence would welcome a bylaw officer into the community but it just can't afford the cost. In the past training and financial support was available from the territorial government through the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs for officer positions in small communities, however, this support no longer exists.

"Our community, like almost all the others in the NWT, does not have the private tax base to support this type of position without government support," said Gargan. "The possibility of that fact changing is sadly not a real option now, or in the perceivable future for most of the hamlets in the NWT."

Gargan also outlined actions the hamlet has taken to deal with the issue, including a veterinarian clinic to help spay and neuter dogs in the community. Gargan said the hamlet has paid more than $19,000 to provide free veterinary services for residents in an effort to help control the cat and dog populations.

The last veterinarian clinic sponsored by the hamlet in November had more than 50 pet owners take advantage of the service by bringing their animals in. Gargan said there is no plan to stop the service.

The hamlet also helps transport abandoned or unwanted animals to the NWTSPCA in Yellowknife. In the past five months alone, the hamlet has transported More than 27 dogs where they are cared for until they can be adopted.

The cost for these trips alone exceed more than $ 3,000, not counting the hours donated by community individuals to make this possible.

"It is the hamlet's belief that this direct assistance provides a safe and humane approach to dealing with this situation within our community in lieu of a fully staffed and funded dog control program," Gargan wrote. "It is our understanding that few, if any other communities our size in the NWT that are non-taxed based, are involved in this type of intervention to address this serious and ongoing problem. Croft understands that it isn't cheap to hire a bylaw officer, but she said it's something the hamlet needs to take a serious look at.

"We really need to start with the pet owners and education and add in some enforcement," she said.

Croft said she's faced little backlash from the petition, but has experienced some negative commenting on social media. She doesn't plan to stop what she's doing.

"I think the community needs to have a public meeting and find a solution," she said. "I might step on a few toes and I'm not here to point fingers, and I'm not laying blame. It's a proactive approach to an issue that I think is important."