Pets left behind in Sask. fire evacuations fed by volunteers

Help is on the way for hundreds of dogs and cats left stranded in communities evacuated due to wildfires in northern Saskatchewan.

Volunteers with the Pack Project in Regina are driving trailers full of dog and cat food up to communities like La Loche and La Ronge.

“In one community there are 200 dogs and I think 50 cats that are up there with zero food,” explained Amy Vitkay who runs the Pack Project.

Vitkay says she first reached out to find out if evacuees needed supplies for pets that they brought with them. Then she found out that most pets had been left behind. Communities like La Loche also have a very high population of stray animals that roam loose.

She says the group has already been in touch with some RCMP members in La Loche, who are familiar with the situation and offered to help unload the food and help volunteers bring back some of the stray puppies.

Vitkay explains the Pack Project already works with more than 25 rescue groups across the province.

“They are all on stand-by and letting us know how many they can take,” Vitkay said.

The non-profit organization already has a stock-pile of pet food because it works with companies to collect the food to distribute it among various rescue groups.

You can donate food and pet supplies at various pet stores in Saskatoon and Regina or visit the Pack Project website to learn more.

AChristianson@rawlco.com
Follow on Twitter: @AdrianaC_JME

This is 2400 lbs of dog food that will soon be in La Loche for the pets stranded by the wildfires #packprojectsk pic.twitter.com/uJq7cqRMwx

— The Pack Project (@PackProjectSK) July 2, 2015