March 10, 2007 - RJ and I saw these 2 dogs, 1 male and 1 female, at the garbage dump on the Blood Reserve. Unfortunately, we did not have the means to catch them that day, so we vowed to come back the following weekend, leaving them enough food to hold them for a week. When we got back to Calgary, we sent out an email with pictures of the dogs, asking for help.

March 17, 2007 - We returned the following week with 3 more people and a truck to transport the dog traps. The dogs were no where to be found. Finally, after more than an hour, we spotted the female. Even though she was near death, her adrenalin pumped her to fearfully run from us. She managed to lodge herself in between the metal sheets of the garbage quonset wall. We tried to lure her with food in the dog trap, but she would not budge. RJ had to crawl in the cubby hole to pull her out. Unfortunately, we never did find the male dog. One has to assume his lonely life ended with never a kind touch from mankind.

Now with the dog safely in a crate, we drive her to High River vet clinic. The vet thought that she should be euthanized, as did a few of the volunteers. Luckily, Gabrielle from Pound Rescue met us at the clinic and said “Let her live”. She was named “Patsy” for St. Patrick’s Day and taken home by Nancy, one of the volunteers.

With Nancy's care, Patsy made a remarkable recovery in just 5 months.

Many things came about with that picture I took of the sad dog at the garbage dump on March 10, 2007. It had only been the second or third time RJ and I had visited a reserve. We saw so many dogs, injured and starving, we knew had to find a way to help them.
Just a few weeks prior, we met a lady named Muriel who lives on the reserve and helps the dogs as much as she can. I remember sitting in her kitchen that day and RJ saying "We have to start a spay neuter program! And within about the same amount of time it took to heal Patsy, the first spay neuter clinic was held in Standoff, Alberta.

Through his contacts at work and numerous friends and family, RJ developed a network of people that came together to aid the reserve dogs. Pound Rescue was a significant contributor, providing funding, volunteers and compassionate guidance. Since August of 2007, hundreds of dogs and cats have been spayed or neutered. Numerous injured animals have been given medical attention that would have otherwise been left to suffer. Many, many more have been rescued and placed in loving homes.

Although some of the times have been heartrending, I am deeply grateful for being part of this journey. I would like to thank RJ Bailot and Gabrielle Barrie for their tireless efforts in aiding the plight of the reserve dogs.

Trudy Sattler

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