Pandemic not slowing down rate of Texan dogs arriving in N.S.

Nova Scotians looking to adopt a puppy are increasingly turning to rescue groups in Texas — organizations that are having no trouble crossing international and provincial borders with truckloads of dogs.

And there is nothing illegal about it, even with the array of travel restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.

Joshua Michelin of Belmont, N.S., said he got up early this past Saturday to pick up his new puppy, Cooper, in Amherst, N.S., near the border with New Brunswick.

"I was slightly concerned because of everything that's going on," he said. "But very impressed with what they did and how they handled it."

Michelin said he was instructed to drive to Robb's Centennial Ball Park Complex in Amherst to meet his dog. He was among 21 others who waited in their cars for a text message advising them to drive up to a waiting truck.

"It's kind of like a drive-thru," Michelin said. "The group gathers together in their cars, individually, and then you just drive up to the vehicle that shows up and pick up your puppy."

For $660, Michelin took home a 12-week-old Shih Tzu-mix puppy from southeast Texas — fully vaccinated, neutered and microchipped.

The dogs were delivered to Nova Scotia by a Texas group called Furever Homes Dog Rescue, an organization formed by Jeanine Christian, who has made about a dozen trips to the Maritimes with dogs since the pandemic began.

Christian collects abandoned dogs from an area in Texas where stray dogs are common.

"The dogs can breed year-round. It's a continuous problem with puppies," she said. "They're completely looked at as just trash."

Christian says she has no luck finding homes for the dogs in the southern states. Canada, on the other hand — and the Maritimes in particular — is a different story.

"These people go through so much to just to adopt, from the application process and getting approved and then waiting," Christian said.

"And they're talking to us constantly. We're sending videos and sending pictures. And when they get them, they're their family before they've even had them in their house, you know? And so they don't throw these dogs away like trash. They treat them like family. That's what I want."

Before heading north for the 34-hour drive to the Canadian border in St. Stephen, N.B., Christian has to abide by federal government requirements and hire a Canadian customs broker.

Canada Border Services Agency told CBC News there are no restrictions related to COVID-19 on the importation of animals.

"Individuals entering Canada to commercially import animals are exempt from the travel restrictions set out in the Orders in Council given that the travel is considered non-discretionary as it is a commercial venture," a statement from CBSA said.

Importers must, however, meet requirements set out by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. In a statement, the CFIA said it will not allow dogs into the country unless they "meet the animal health requirements applicable to the age of the animals."

It said dogs less than eight months old must have an import permit, and there are vaccination and identification requirements. Dogs older than eight months old need a rabies vaccination.

Christian said customs officials at the border are well aware that there are several groups in Texas rehoming dogs in the Maritimes, and she's never had a problem getting across the border, even during the pandemic.

"I have a great relationship and work very closely with the border patrol in Canada," Christian said. "I absolutely love my Canadian adopters. The adoptions we get up there are so incredible that we want to make sure that we continue doing the right thing because, I mean, the last thing you want to do is get blocked and not being able to transport.

"Every time we're coming up, we let them know we're headed up there, which day we arrive, how many dogs we have and the approximate time, just because it is a big process for them to handle all these dogs, because they have to check every single folder, they have to check every single dog and make sure that they're all healthy."

Christian works with Halifax volunteer Lisa Benoit, who finds the dogs homes. Since February, Benoit's helped Christian find homes for dozens of dogs.

She said Christian sends up a truckload of as many as 60 dogs twice a month, all bound for the Maritime provinces. Benoit said she was in regular contact with provincial officials to make sure the dogs would be allowed in at a time when borders are closed, and Nova Scotians are being told not to leave their communities for anything other than essential business.

She contacted Municipal Affairs Minister Brendan Maguire, and said he verified that those adopting the dogs were allowed to leave their communities solely for the purpose of picking them up, so long as they followed COVID-19 protocols.

Maguire declined to comment to the CBC for this story.

Benoit said she also asked an RCMP officer if Saturday's transfer in Amherst needed to be supervised and was told it didn't.

Benoit said the stream of dogs coming from Texas to the Maritimes hasn't relented. So far, she said, they're responsible for no spread of the virus.

"We have had no known cases traced back to us. To our knowledge," Benoit said.

As for whether those adopting dogs are enjoying liberties not granted to the rest of the province, Benoit said it's a different situation.

"I don't think it's the same as going to visit your grandma in, you know, in New Brunswick. You know, it's just that level of contact isn't there," she said.

Michelin said he was impressed at the lengths the group went to avoid any contact.

"I believe that the main difference between visiting people and what we did was it was literally going through a drive-thru. It was literally like you go to pick up food. There was no human contact. There was no visiting."