Charity gives Sudbury pit bull a new leash on life in New Brunswick
"Apparently she gave everybody kisses," says program volunteer of dog spared from death
A two-year-old pit bull named Kya from Sudbury was spared euthanasia after a charity called Pilots N Paws Canada was called to help last month.
The manager of the Rainbow District Animal Shelter, Richard Paquette, said he seized the dog because of some biting incidents.
Paquette, who runs Animal Control Services for the city, said the bites were minor and provoked. After doing some testing, Paquette decided the animal had a good temperament.
Unfortunately, her fate was grim. The Dog Owner's Liability Act of Ontario of 2005 prohibits the ownership of pit bulls on the basis they are dangerous.
Paquette said one of his volunteers took the lead and located a shelter that was willing to take Kya, but it was in Oromocto, New Brunswick. That's when Paquette learned of Pilots N Paws Canada.
Volunteer pilots
From Ottawa, Deanna Bliuvas co-ordinates volunteer pilots with animals needing transportation, some of them pit bulls from Ontario that are destined to be put down. The pilots volunteer their time and pay for their own fuel, so costs are minimal.
Bliuvas reached Toronto pilot Ross Magnaldo who could take Kya from Sudbury to her new East Coast home. Foul weather delayed the rescue mission but late last month, Magnaldo made the trip with Kya in a crate behind his seat.
"Apparently she gave everybody kisses," said Bluivas. "The pilot got kisses, the people that met her in Fredericton got kisses."
Magnaldo said Kya was the second animal he volunteered to transport with the charity. He said combining his love of flying with rescuing animals is rewarding.
"To be able to put some animal into some better environment, the warmth that comes out of it, the gratitude, having done something like that" he said, makes his day.
As for Richard Paquette, he said it's the first time he's worked with Pilots N Paws Canada — but it won't be the last.
And it was a happy ending for Kya. Instead of facing lethal injection in Ontario, the Oromocto SPCA said she was adopted out just about a week after arriving at the shelter.