Dolly is a black-and-white Boston terrier who came into the Patti Dale Animal Shelter as a stray six weeks ago from Langley City.
Given Dolly’s physical condition when she arrived, it was apparent she’d had at least a few litters in past, said the shelter’s interim executive director Jayne Nelson.
An ultrasound about a week into Dolly’s stay confirmed she was, in fact, pregnant again.
This time she was expecting a single puppy, which was brought into the world four weeks ago now, through a C-section.
Today there are more than a hundred people watching the 24/7 movements of both Dolly, and her young pup, Porter.
Now, their daily routines, and the often humorous shenanigans of Porter, are being livestreamed – online for all to watch – Nelson explained.
She’s excited to add this video feed as a way to bring more awareness to the work being done to care for abandoned and unwanted pets that currently call the Aldergrove shelter home.
Nelson and her team watched the online successes enjoyed by an off-shoot organization from LAPS, called Tiny Kittens Society, and the more than a million followers they’ve garnered from around the world with their livestreaming of cats. LAPS hope to mirror that attention with some “day-in-the-life” footage Dolly and other shelter animals.
It’s important to educate the public about the work being done by staff and volunteers at the shelter, but it’s also “great” to showcase the animals they have in care, all in an effort to find them “forever homes,” Nelson said.
This weekend is the LAPS ninth annual Furry Tail Ending Gala, and it too is all about bringing attention to the shelter, it’s efforts, and all the animals in care – as well as raising “much needed” money to ensure that work can continue.
Watching Porter and Dolly – as an example – helps drive home the realization that some of these shelter animals require “incredible amounts” of medical/veterinarian care, Nelson said.
Money from this year’s gala is earmarked in part to cover the shelter’s vet bills, which Nelson said easily average about $100,000 a year – and that’s a discounted rate thanks to the partnerships they enjoy with many of the local veterinarian clinics.
She noted that about three dozen kittens have come into the shelter in the past two weeks, and each of them also require various degrees of medical attention.
That ranges from some of the kittens simply receiving basic spay or neutering, vaccine shots, deworming, and flea treatment, to others needing more extensive (and often costly) care from ringworm or upper respiratory treatments, to ultrasounds and surgeries, Nelson explained.
“It means that we are full – jammed, and of course the cost of vet care for that many animals is huge. I mention it, because we count on the gala every year to help us afford the exceptional vet care that the animals receive,” she added.
“Vet care for the amount of animals we care for is significant,” she said, grateful that the last of the gala tickets appear to be selling – albeit last minute.
It won’t necessarily be a sold-out event – as it has been in recent years – but Nelson is hoping to have more than 400 animal lovers in the ballroom at the Coast Hotel & Convention Centre come Saturday night.
In addition to the liv
e and silent auctions, the Alice Through the Looking Glass-themed evening includes live entertainment with magician Wes Barker and singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist Sean Michael Simpson.
The evening emceed by radio personalities Nat Hunter and Drew Savage of the weekday morning show on 103.5 QMFM.
Tickets are $125 each, and available by phone at 604-857-5055 or at the Patti Dale Animal Shelter (26220 56th Ave.) in Aldergrove, or online at LAPSBC.ca.
