Fundraiser launched for 'starving' dogs found on remote B.C. island
Fish farm workers on northern Vancouver Island are trying to unravel a mystery surrounding a pair of abandoned dogs found on a remote island.
The dogs were first spotted at the end of December by fish farm workers boating past Minstrel Island, east of Port McNeill.
It was an unusual place for the dogs to be, and at first the workers thought they were wolves.
"Once they realized they were dogs, they were all such amazing humans, they went and tried to rescue these dogs," said Jill Laviolette with the Tri-Port Wildlife Response Team.
"It took quite a few hours and it was an ordeal," she said.
Once the dogs were secured, the workers brought them to Port Hardy where they underwent medical treatment.
They're now being fostered by Laviolette.
"They were in rough shape," she told CTV News. "I don't know how much longer they would have lasted out there."
"They were starving, they were so skinny. Their skin was just kind of hanging off them," she said.
Laviolette says the dogs were initially untrusting of people, but they've since warmed up.
"They're big boys but just such loving, caring, fluffy animals," she said. "Gosh they're great."
An online fundraiser recently launched to pay for the pair's medical expenses and to help find new homes for the dogs, which are believed to be mixed-breed brothers a little over one year old.
"[Jill's] been fostering them and putting out her own money to take care of them. It's a big toll," said Shannon Briggs, the person who launched the fundraiser.
Research has been done to trace back who the original owner of the dogs was, and Laviolette considers this to be a case of neglect or abuse.
She says the SPCA has been informed.
For now though, the focus is on getting the dogs to their forever homes.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE NOW Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
From housing initiatives to a disability benefit, how the federal budget impacts you
From plans to boost new housing stock, encourage small businesses, and increase taxes on Canada’s top-earners, CTVNews.ca has sifted through the 416-page budget to find out what will make the biggest difference to your pocketbook.
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.
BREAKING Feds cutting 5,000 public service jobs, looking to turn underused buildings into housing
Five thousand public service jobs will be cut over the next four years, while underused federal office buildings, Canada Post properties and the National Defence Medical Centre in Ottawa could be turned into new housing units, as the federal government looks to find billions of dollars in savings and boost the country's housing portfolio.
Liberals aim to hit the brakes on car theft with new criminal offences
The Liberals are proposing new charges for the use of violence while stealing a vehicle and for links to organized crime, as well as laundering money for the benefit of a criminal organization.
Feds offer $5B in Indigenous loan guarantees, fall $420B short on infrastructure asks
The federal government is providing up to $5 billion in loan guarantees to help Indigenous communities invest in natural resource and energy products. But when it comes to a promise to close what advocates say is a sprawling Indigenous infrastructure gap, Ottawa is short more than $420 billion.
BREAKING Police to announce arrests in Toronto Pearson airport gold heist
Police say that arrests have been made in connection with a $20-million gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport one year ago.
Proposed class-action lawsuit against Shoppers Drug Mart alleges 'unsafe and unethical corporate practices'
Shoppers Drug Mart is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit by current and former franchise owners at the retail chain who allege parent company Loblaw engaged in corporate practices that placed them in an “irredeemable conflict of interest” and put patient care at risk.
Lululemon unveils first summer kit for Canada's Olympic and Paralympic teams
Lululemon says it is combining function and fashion in its first-ever summer kit for Canada's Olympians and Paralympians.