When thinking about fostering an animal, it can be hard to consider letting them go.
“It has taken me a few years (to get used to),” says Sharon Sims-Cerswell, of Rescue 1 At A Time in Barrie.
After seven years of involvement, she's now president of the organization and has helped find countless dogs and cats their forever homes.
Rescue 1 At A Time is a non-profit organization, fully operated by volunteers, that takes in dogs and cats from unpleasant circumstances.
Sims-Cerswell is a passionate pet owner who, along with help from her son and many devoted animal lovers, currently spends plenty of time caring for the six puppies and three kittens in their home who require adoption.
There are currently fewer people offering foster care than there are rescue animals out there, and Sims-Cerswell says many circumstances bring these animals to her door.
Rescue 1 At A Time focuses on helping dogs from rescue networks in northern Ontario and northern Manitoba; there is a van that brings in 100 to 200 animals every two weeks.
“And that is from one network alone,” Sims-Cerswell said. “The majority of them come from Indigenous communities where there is no vet care, so breeding is rampant."
These dogs are often hearty breeds such as husky, German shepherd or malamute, “dogs that were brought in by settlers for working,” Sims-Cerswell said.
The volunteers with Rescue 1 At A Time know plenty about the situation in these northern communities.
“The dogs don’t usually live that long,” Sims-Cerswell explained. “It’s sad, but these communities have to do a cull because they form packs and attack people, they attack the children. They have no choice. A lot of time the networks, if they hear that that is going to happen they get in there and set traps to try and get out as many dogs as they can to stop that from happening.”
Although a small organization, Rescue 1 At A Time provides care for a lot of animals.
“We take in as many as we can get fosters for, so I never take an animal without a foster,” Sims-Cerswell said.
The requirements and information for prospective fosters and adoption applications may be found on their Facebook page or website.
Among these rescued puppies from northern communities, the group also considers owner surrenders and some medical cases when they have the funds. Fundraising and events such as Show Us Your Heart held by Global Pet Foods helps pay for the medical bills.
This year, they raised $6,000 for Rescue 1 At A Time, which Sims-Cerswell says is spent quickly, but always goes to providing for the animals.
Owner surrenders are less of a priority, so an agreement can be made where the owner often becomes the foster home for which Sims-Cerswell then finds the right adoption home to match.
Due to the sheer volume of animals that need homes, rescues can sometimes burn out, she added.
“What people don’t realize is that the pound is mandated by the government to move the dogs,” she said. “If there are dogs waiting to come in they have to get them in, and the only way to get them in is to get the other ones out, and they’re being euthanized left, right and centre.”
Sims-Cerswell and a pair of volunteers helped save three puppies from being euthanized recently, helping to vet and spay/neuter them like all animals they take in.
“Some of the rescues are big enough they do spay/neuter clinics. We’re not. Being a rescue, our biggest thing is the spay/neuter,” she said, noting the group looks after a variety of health issues and ensures the animals are socialized and ready for adoption.
It’s an ongoing cycle for the group of roughly 20 volunteers and 15 fosters.
Sim-Cerswell says the organization “desperately (needs) fosters.”
While some animals, like puppies, are usually adopted within a month, others can stay with the organization for months at a time.
“Puppies move fast, but we’re never in a rush for anyone to go,” Sims-Cerswell said. “We take our time to make sure we get the right fit.”
While the group crate-trains the dogs for sleeping at night, and works to teach them good behaviour, rescue volunteers do not fully train the animals, Sims-Cerswell said.
“We’re not trainers, we’re not dog experts,” she said. “We’re just a bunch of animal-loving people that got together and do what we can to help who we can.”
Sims-Cerswell admits to getting attached to the animals she cares for, and has a tendency to foster mother-pup combinations.
“My heart goes out to the northern dogs,” she said. “It’s really quite rewarding. I know for me at the start it was very hard. My first foster resides at my house, she came as a pregnant mum and had two puppies … and I couldn’t let her go.”
Sims-Cerswell says there are other ways to be involved if fostering is not an option, with people sometimes helping the organization with events, dog walking and fundraising endeavours.
Rescue 1 At A Time will host an auction in November, which usually raised $4,000 to 5,000 and helps them continue to do the work that they do helping animals.
Each animal has its story, and Sims-Cerswell says she remembers them all, such as the puppies needing C-section births who were left at the veterinarian’s office, or the dog who was run over and needed a leg amputated.
The group often picks names for the animals based on the situation they came from, like the three kittens Sims-Cerswell currently takes care of — named Altair, Polaris and Vega because they were retrieved from a field at night.
They were rescued in the short window before they would be considered feral.
Rescue 1 At A Time posts these animals’ stories to their Facebook page.
