Angels of Hope Animal Rescue is small and mighty, but President Sherrie Flick says their group is tired. With only herself, her sister Wanda Soloshy of Kipling, Sheryl Stomp and Barb Mountain, both of Esterhazy, they cover a huge area. 90% of the rescues are from Ochapowace, Kahkewistihaw, Cowessess and Sakimay First Nations and they cover Whitewood, Moosomin, Stockholm, Esterhazy, Grayson, Langenburg, Churchbridge and Russell, MB.
Founded in 2010, the rescue was run out of Esterhazy and Flick joined in 2012. She says it is not an easy thing to be part of, but the rewards outweigh the pain. And it is painful when you may only have two foster homes, both full and you have 16 dogs you know are dying of starvation but your hands are tied. Spaying and neutering are key to ending this problem and education takes time. When their foster homes are full and there are starving animals, Flick can often be seen with bags of food, feeding those animals where they live, as a stop gap measure until they can find a way to get them to a better place. The dogs definitely recognize her vehicle, she says and follow her down the streets.
The biggest problem faced by the Angels of Hope is homes for placing the rescued dogs. Everyone they know has adopted at least one, if not two and there is a limit to the number of dogs people can house. This means that they are now taking dogs in, paying for the veterinary bills, feeding and housing them during the two-week quarantine and then either turning them over to the SPCA or other rescues for placement. This is good news for the dogs, but the groups placing the dogs are reaping the adoption fees and Angels of Hope are relying on donations to fund their efforts.
One of these efforts is the Chase the Ace, held on Wednesdays at Billy’s Bar in Round Lake. Tickets are available for $10 each or 3 for $20 and you don’t even have to be there to win. A proxy is available to pick your card, should you not be in attendance, and with 27 cards left and two Aces already gone, the $4637.50 (and growing) jackpot is ripe for the winning. The group can accept e-transfers for tickets and more information can be found on their Facebook page, Angels of Hope Animal Rescue Inc.
This group of ladies have been part of many weddings, working the bar for funds to support the Rescue, and aside for the obvious need for money, they also have a desperate need for foster homes, and even rides for the animals from one temporary home to the next. I
f you are interested in being a part of the bridge between life and death for one of these animals who, through no fault of their own, were born into poverty and/or neglect, you can reach out through their Facebook page, using the information found there.
