Step into the lobby on the main floor of the Revelstoke Days Inn and smell the animals before you see them.
Volunteer transport SK from the Running Wild Rescue service in Moose Jaw stopped at Revelstoke where they left a mix of more than 100 cats and dogs. Transporters transported the animals from Moose Jaw to Vancouver, delivering relief supplies along the way. Kristen Henry, Anthony James and Thad Smith suddenly found themselves taking care of all the animals on Wednesday (November 16) night when they were picking up their pup in Revelstoke, Nelson.
“Definitely no sleep, no experience with that or anything like that. We just did our best to make sure the animals were okay,” Henry said.
Run wild rescue boats by volunteering to transport adopted pets to various parts of Canada.
When a volunteer vehicle encountered a snowstorm en route west from Saskatchewan, their progress was slowed, forcing them to take longer than usual. The longer they drive, the worse it is for the animal and the driver.
“They weren’t comfortable going on this journey,” Henry added, adding that they “absolutely don’t think there’s any bad intentions here or anything like that. It’s really just a blizzard,” which slowed everything down.
So, with members of the Wilderness Rescue Team heading out from Moose Jaw, Henry, James and Smith have to take care of all the animals until more rescuers arrive.
With only one room reserved for themselves, the group had to seek help from Days Inn staff to house the animals. When they do, the staff are very helpful.
“They’ve been great. They’ve been saying, ‘Don’t worry about the smell as much as you need to,'” Smith says.
While Smith was explaining how the Days Inn staff could help, a member of their team was helping to wash the cat in the bathroom of the hotel room.
Once the animals were housed, the group realized they needed help caring for them and posted a message on the Revelstoke community Facebook page. By Thursday morning, supplies from the Humane Society and volunteers had poured into the hotel to help.
“Everyone gets involved. It’s great for your community. Lots of people! It’s like we keep turning people away,” James said.
A volunteer showed up and took most of the dogs to a local kennel to feed them, bathe them, and let them run.
Breanne Wallach showed up at the hotel around 11am and was there just after 4pm, where she was helping to bathe the cat.
“I think we’ve probably done about 30 to 35 kennels. And then about 50% have just one cat, and the rest have about 2-5 cats,” Wallach said.
Organizers are continuing their journey en route to Revelstoke and transporting the animals to their new homes.
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