Moosomin comes to the rescue of stranded rescue animals

November 13, 2021, 8:06 pm

Pet carriers at Mazergroup Moosomin, where many dogs and cats were kept warm overnight after a van carrying the rescue animals was stranded by the highway closure.

A Manitoba animal rescue group is thankful after several people and businesses in Moosomin came to the rescue when a van full of rescue animals became stranded in Moosomin when the Trans-Canada Highway closed this week.

K9 Advocates Manitoba was taking 75 cats and dogs to British Columbia, when a winter storm Thursday and Friday left them stranded in Moosomin.

"None of us knew anyone in Moosomin, so we were frantically calling the RCMP and fire halls and boarding kennels," said Chelsea Kork of K9 Advocates.

Kork said K9 Advocates members were looking for a place to keep the animals in Moosomin warm for the night.

"The town of Moosomin came out — kept them overnight, walked them, fed them, changed cat litter boxes," Kork said.

Moosomin RCMP give Mazergroup credit for stepping up and taking in a lot of the animals.

"Members assisted finding a safe warm place for a rescue animal transportation vehicle that was going to be stranded due to the road conditions," according to RCMP. "Mazergroup came to the rescue of the rescue, and opened their shop giving the animals a warm place to stay until the roads cleared up."

Tammy Howes and Cody Bruvold of Mazergroup decided to take the animals in. 49 dogs and 26 cats stayed the night in Moosomin, between the Mazergroup shop and the vet clinic.

Howes got in touch with the rescue group and the RCMP, and offered to take the animals in. Bruvold helped get them to the shop and settled, they walked the dogs around the shop, fed the cats, and just took care of them.

The next morning Mazergroup staff loaded up the animals and they were returned to Manitoba.

Kork said she and the rest of K9 Advocates Manitoba can't thank the residents of Moosomin enough for their help. "It was amazing."

Kork said the animals were headed to British Columbia. K9 Advocates takes rescue animals to Vancouver and Toronto to be adopted.

The animals have been placed in foster home, and another trip will be planned to take them to BC.