SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Andy and Joey had traumatic childhoods. And they want you to ask about them.

Joey now spends his days at Sutherland's Drugs, but before he was adopted, he was the only one of his litter who survived exposure. - Jessica Davey-Quantick/NNSL photo

Andy came to the NWT SPCA, the smallest puppy in her litter, her face cut from what Dana Martin, vice-president of the NWT SPCA, suspects was an attack by another animal.

Joey survived exposure by clinging to his mother, the only puppy from his litter left alive. His back foot was damaged by frostbite. Today, they both spend most of their time at Sutherland's Drugs, where Martin works. Both sport collars from Project Blue Collar.

"It is to bring awareness to the underdog," said Martin. "You strike up a conversation and know that dog that you see that's very well behaved and beautiful isn't a purebred dog, and isn't bred by someone and sold as a product."

Started in the U.S.A., the goal of the project is to draw attention to rescues and start changing what people think of when they picture shelter dogs. Blue collars and leashes are available for around $25 each at Sutherland's, with 100 per cent of the money going to the NWT SPCA. The shelter took in 551 animals, including 430 dogs, 105 cats and 16 other animals like rabbits, in 2015-16 and relies primarily on donations.

"I just think it's a good idea to have awareness brought to these dogs. These dogs need somebody in their corner to speak for them," said Dixie Bezaire, co-owner of Sutherland's.

In fact, she says it's a good thing her business is going to the dogs.

Andy and Joey are fixtures, and the store is dog friendly, even sometimes hosting puppies from the NWT SPCA up for adoption.

"A lot of people come in just to see the dogs, and get a little bit of dog therapy, a little bit of dog love, especially when the SPCA has puppies here," said Bezaire.

While the collars and leashes might not be turning a profit for Sutherland's, Martin says the animal-friendly policy has had an impact.

"It has actually has improved our business, that people come in for that reason, so business has picked up," said Martin, who added she's started to notice more and more businesses in Yellowknife embracing the furrier customers. "I have noticed that people are starting to be a little bit more open to having dogs in the workplace," she said.

Martin said she's noticed staff productivity at the store has also risen since the dogs arrived. Studies since the early 2000s have also found that pets are associated with improvements in mental, social and physiological health. In 2012, Dalhousie University in Halifax, N.S. began offering a "puppy room" during exam season to help students manage stress, and since then, other schools across the country have jumped on the dog-wagon.

Bezaire said the full-time dogs at Sutherland's started with Andy, and there haven't been any problems with having the dogs in the store. "The worst, they bark at people wearing fur," said Martin.

Despite their good behavior, there's no mistaking the pair are rescues, thanks to their blue collars - and that, Martin says, is the whole point of Project Blue Collar.

"When you immediately think of a shelter dog, they're there because somebody didn't want them because of their bad behaviour or they have no training or because somebody just let them out of their door and didn't care for them anymore," said Martin.

This perception, that rescues are somehow defective, isn't helped by some behaviour issues they may have, especially in the North where the majority of dogs to re-homed might never have lived in a house before, she said.

"They've never had rules, they've never had boundaries. They don't know that they're not supposed to stand on the kitchen table," she said. "They're all great dogs, they all have the capacity to learn."

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