A Halifax family sought to adopt a dog that was kid friendly, cat friendly, and other-dog friendly using Petfinder. After finding no suitable match, they contacted pet rescue organizations that brought strays into the Atlantic provinces. They adopted Marley, a boxer-lab puppy surrendered by an owner and looking for a home, after traveling to St. Stephen, New Brunswick. The pickup involved a transport van filled with many dogs, creating an emotional moment for the adopter. After bringing Marley home, the adopter became deeply involved in rescue work, volunteering and fostering dogs while managing transports and paperwork for rescues run by stretched-thin volunteers.
"They used Petfinder, an international online adoption database, and inputted all their needs: kid friendly, cat friendly, other-dog friendly. But scrolling through pages and pages of cute photos, Benoit saw nothing that quite met her family's criteria. She turned to pet rescue organizations bringing strays into the Atlantic provinces. That was how she found Marley-a boxer-lab puppy who was owner surrendered and looking for a home."
"Benoit had to drive to St. Stephen, New Brunswick, to pick her up. When the rescue volunteer opened the back door of the transport van, Benoit was overwhelmed: it was full of dogs of every shape and size-a mix of nervousness and desperation and love looking for somewhere to land. "There were chihuahuas and shepherds and just everything," says Benoit, now fifty-four."
""She was saying, pick me, pick me, because she didn't know where she was going or what she was doing," she says. Benoit started crying and couldn't stop-even after the volunteers placed tiny Marley in her hands. Benoit, who works as a business analyst, left that day with more than a new puppy to snuggle. She knew that all the dogs in that van-all dogs everywhere, really-deserved loving homes."
"Soon, dog rescue became her mission. "It was too important to not be involved in," she told me. By the summer of 2020, she was volunteering for rescues and fostering dogs who were waiting on their "forever homes." The rescues were staffed by volunteers and often stretched thin. Benoit threw herself into the work, managing transports and filling out paperwork."
Read at The Walrus
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