How post-tropical storm Fiona affected N.S. SPCA operations and animals in their care
When post-tropical storm Fiona made landfall in the Maritimes on Sept. 23, Cape Breton was hit particularly hard. Many homes and businesses were badly damaged, including the Nova Scotia SPCA shelter in Sydney.
Sarah Lyon, the SPCA’s director of marketing and communications, says while the shelter was damaged during the storm, it was “very fortunate” that no animals or staff were hurt.
“When Fiona hit, there was 300 animals in the shelters. We have a foster program, so there were some animals that were home safe with their foster families,” she says.
While the shelter dealt with its own cleanup efforts and power outages, it continued to provide services to people, and pets, in need.
“When something like this happens we are here for Nova Scotians because we know a lot of Nova Scotians were affected. We have a pet pantry at all of our locations in the province,” says Lyon. “So if you need some cat food, some dog food, some kitty litter, it’s there and we’re there to help and it’s free.”
Another service the Nova Scotia SPCA offers is a Paws and Support program for Nova Scotians experiencing temporary homelessness, or fleeing domestic violence.
“We can help and take your animal and hold them for you while you’re transitioning,” Lyon says. “So, in Cape Breton for instance, there’s an apartment building that has some damage, in our Paws and Support program we’ve taken in some cats and some rats.”
Power has since been restored to the Cape Breton shelter and it is “back up and running.”
“I was up there last week helping with the animals,” says Lyon. “We saw everybody out there working their hardest to help get everybody safe and healthy and the lights back on at the shelter.”
Despite the power being back, Lyon says there were some losses.
“We did have some damages, so there’s a loss when you have no power, there’s loss of medicine, vaccines and food, linens, dog beds that can’t be cleaned. So we had some losses, but everybody’s safe.”
There are two ways people can help the SPCA recover from the storm.
There are currently several pets available for people looking to add a furry friend to their home and the SPCA encourages people to drop by their local shelter if they’re looking to adopt.
“The other way is you can go to spca.ca and you can make a donation as we recoup some food and some vaccines and be prepared for the next storm,” says Lyon.
One of the dogs currently available for adoption is Marley, a six-year-old Labrador who was in the Cape Breton shelter when Fiona hit. He was later evacuated to Dartmouth for X-rays.
“Marley was new to the shelter and we needed to find out if something was wrong,” says Lyon. “Marley does have, because of the X-rays, because we were able to bring him down last week, we were able to find out that Marley has a degenerative bone disease, which is not lacking for the enthusiasm and love that he has to give.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Police investigating shooting outside of Drake's Bridle Path mansion: source
Toronto police are investigating a shooting that took place outside of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion early Tuesday morning, a source tells CP24.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.
Highlights from the 2024 Met Gala exhibit: Sleeping Beauty would wake up for these gowns
Sure, she was a royal princess and all. But there’s no way Sleeping Beauty — either before or after her nap — ever had quite the fabulous wardrobe that’s been assembled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Stormy Daniels is expected to appear at Trump's hush money trial on Tuesday
Donald Trump returns to the hush money trial Tuesday facing a threat of jail time for additional gag order violations as prosecutors gear up to summon big-name witnesses including porn actor Stormy Daniels.
Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza's vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife's edge.