Helping animals is more than a part-time obsession for Beth Coleman – it’s a labour of love.
The Minto resident became interested in animal rescues through someone at her workplace who was involved in a rescue operation. The two had hit it off and at the time, there were six puppies classed as pit bulls that had been part of the rescue.
Coleman explained a farmer had tried to shoot the stray mother and her pups. She said the dog had held up in the barn and outsmarted the farmer, who finally called the dog rescue group.
A young lady and her group that ran furkidsrescue.ca in Wiarton went and got the animals.
The woman had the dog and pups at her home in Wiarton, where the family built a shed especially for them.
Coleman’s co-worker asked if she wanted to foster a puppy. She was at first hesitant since she already had three dogs of her own.
“We drove up to Wiarton, and I agreed to foster one of them … and I’ve been doing it ever since,” said Coleman.
She has now been involved in rescues for the past three years. Coleman has not fostered any animals in the past year because of a complaint lodged by a neighbour. But she is still involved with all organizations involved in dog rescues.
“It’s a huge, huge partnership involving people all over Canada,” she said.
It is weblike and spreads out forever, she said describing the contacts of the volunteers and organizations.
“They’re a dedicated group who put in a lot of time and effort, sometimes taking time from their families, in order to save the lives of dogs and other animals in need.”
Coleman is still involved in dog tranSports from Mount Forest to a “no kill” shelter in Owen Sound. She said the shelter is run by a lovely woman, Renee Robins, and her family. She and Todd Robins have had the shelter since 1999.
Coleman continues to help pets without owners find homes on a daily basis.
“I’m involved with all sorts of shelters … right now I’m working to find places for three dogs in foster or forever homes. But they still arrive on a steady basis. I have a special place in my heart for German shepherds. I acquired my first German shepherd about 15 years ago.”
While that beloved pet passed away about two years ago, “I’ll never be without another, because there’s no more loyal and loving dog than a shepherd.”
Currently she has two of them, plus a shepherd-husky cross and a miniature poodle.
“I do anything and everything that is asked of me,” she said.
Coleman noted she recently became involved in the case of a German shepherd being held at a shelter in Keswick, which was desperately trying to find a home for it.
“Shepherds don’t do well in small spaces or behind fences. To find a forever home for a dog is the most wonderful feeling in the world,” she said.
“To see a dog happy, content, almost smiling when they know they’ve found their people, is overjoyous. I get goosebumps … I have them right now just talking about it.”
She said everybody benefits from a rescue.
“The owners are happy, the dog is happy … and somehow a dog has an instinct, I think, when they are rescued and find their forever homes. I almost think sometimes, they appreciate it. They know what these people are doing for them, and they give back a hundredfold.”
Coleman said, “The only problem is, right now, the fosters, the shelters and the rescuers, are bursting at the seems with dogs, which are given up for many reasons.”
Due to the current economic climate right now, “We’re seeing more and more families who have to give up their beloved pets due to economic circumstances. That is probably the saddest things I’ve seen in my life … is to see a family have to let go of their family pet. It’s heart rending.”
She said if a person has the ability to save a pet, it does not have to be a dog or cat. It could be a gerbil, a horse and she even cited the example of finding a home for a pot-bellied pig.
“If you have it in your power to save an animal or give to a shelter or rescue agency or to provide transport [then do it],” she pleaded.
Foster homes and tranSports are two areas groups have found there is never enough people to help. Even for those who do not want a pet full time, there are opportunities to foster for a few days or a few months.
“Most rescues will provide food, vet care, transportation if needed, toys … whatever you need for the dog.”
She stressed a good rescue will provide the resources needed “to get the dog to its forever home. We’re always looking for good fosters.”
At the same time, she said, “Sometimes I think it’s sometimes harder to adopt an animal than adopt a child. There are applications that must be filled out, home checks to be done, and telephone conversations.”
Coleman is also involved in doing home checks, where she is sent the information provided by the applicant.
“I go out to see if everything is as they say, and that it’s a good home,” she said. She added adopting an animal is not an overnight process; there is a lot of checking and work involved.
For those wanting more information she suggested contacting her at bcoleman69@sympatico.ca
“I can send them in the right direction.” She has had hundreds of contacts for people involved in different rescues.
“It’s just mind boggling. If you come to a point where you must give your animal up to a shelter,” Coleman asked people to consider using a humane, no -kill shelter like the one in Owen Sound. She added there are other places that take dogs, and hold them for three days.
“After that time, if the dogs are not adopted or picked up by their owners, the dogs are euthanized. That’s not a very long time when someone is looking for their pet,” she said.
The three-day rule is pretty standard in a lot of shelters, Coleman added. She advocated spaying and neutering pets. She also has concerns with breed specific legislation in Ontario.
The legislation, she said, considers certain breeds and looks directly at pit bulls and anything resembling pit bulls.
“It could be full blown labrador, mastiffs, bulldogs, all these big dogs that, in the hands of some, are used for their own selfish reasons.”
She said that law originated from dog attacks in cities. However, she said statistics indicate the dogs most likely to be vicious are small dogs.
“With breed specific laws there are hundreds, maybe thousands of dogs being put down in Ontario just because someone says ‘that dog looks like a pit bull,’ ” she lamented.
There are advocates seeking to change the law to the Dog Owners Liability Act, so that it is not the breed that is held responsible for its actions – but dog owners.
“If you train your dog to be a killer, it will be a killer … any dog … no matter what breed,” Coleman said.
“If you love your dog and make it part of your family, you include it in your life, you give it no reason to be vicious, you train it, your dog will be a dog.”
She said breed specific dogs have a bad reputation because of the actions of certain people.
“For their own selfish, inhumane reasons, they train these dogs to be killers,” she said. “And then, it is the breed of dog that pays for the sins, not the owners.”
Dogs are misidentified and put down every day, she added.
Coleman believes if owners are responsible for the condition and temperament of their dogs, that might go a long way to curbing the puppy mills in the province, where irresponsible breeders sell dogs that are often mistreated and genetically disposed towards violent behaviour. The conditions of those operations are often deplorable.
“If they were responsible, they would provide decent conditions for these dogs,” Coleman said.
For those wanting pets, she said, “You must be able to follow through with the commitment. You can’t just dump them somewhere. They’re not expendable.”
