Dogs from remote northern Ontario communities have found their forever homes in Guelph and Wellington County through a volunteer-run rescue.
Southern Connection Dog Rescue is a volunteer-run foster dog rescue based in southern Ontario. It has rescued about 550 dogs. Although it doesn’t have a physical space, fosters are spread across Guelph, Fergus, Elmira, Milton, Burlington, Toronto and many other cities.
The rescue was established in 2021 and is in partnership with Northern Reach Rescue Network which started in 2014.
The network flies in dogs from remote northern Ontario communities to Thunder Bay. Then the dogs are transported to cities in southern Ontario where they are fostered for a minimum of two weeks.
One of the area's adopted dogs made a great escape hours after he was brought home. That dog, Tigger, ended up running from Guelph to Morriston.
Zachery Yetman wanted a dog of his own after his girlfriend Sarah Ongarato adopted her dog, Koda, from Southern Connection Dog Rescue.
He put an application in for Tigger but he was already adopted. Lucky for Yetman the people who adopted him gave him back to the rescue. The day Yetman got Tigger, he escaped when the front door was ajar.
They looked for him all night.
A call came in from a woman in Morriston the next day who said Tigger was playing with her dog. She brought him inside. When Yetman picked him up he realized Tigger made it about 20 km from his house, likely because he was trying to run back to his foster’s home in Hamilton. Yetman was relieved he finally found Tigger.
“He used to be afraid of pretty much everyone he met,” said Yetman. Ongarato introduced Tigger to Koda and he came out of his shell. They’ve been inseparable ever since.
Stacey Kenny is the adoption team lead for Southern Connection and connects with potential pet parents to adopt out the rescued dogs.
Kenny wanted a dog in her family and to see if it would be a good fit she started fostering dogs from the rescue. Her husband said it was difficult letting the dogs go. They have adopted two rescue dogs Gracie and Piper. Gracie is from Turks and Caicos and Piper is from a remote northern Ontario community.
Piper was a five-week-old puppy when Kenny got her. She was separated from her mom and siblings because she was injured. She was sick with an eye infection and it looked like she was going to lose her eye. Within six weeks she had a clear bill of health and didn’t lose her eye.
Dogs that are rescued are sometimes sick, homeless, strays, or are surrendered so they can have a better life elsewhere. In remote communities there are often no veterinarians and the cost of dog food is expensive.
The rescue sends food monthly to northern communities.
If a dog needed veterinary care the owner would need to arrange a crate and a flight which is about $200. The dog would need to be picked up by a family member or friend and taken to a clinic. After it’s seen by a veterinarian the dog is flown back.
“So you know, a simple tummy ache … could end up costing them, you know, a 1,000 extra dollars over and above the actual vet bill and it's just, it's not feasible,” said Kenny.
There are barriers up north and it makes it difficult to care for pets without adequate resources.
When dogs are brought through the rescue network they get seen by a veterinarian and are dewormed, vaccinated and microchipped. For a dog to be fully vetted the cost is about $1,200, which is a reduced rate from the vet clinics. The rescue also pays for flights, food and any other supplies the dogs need.
The adoption fee is $800 so the rescue runs on a bit of a deficit when adopting out dogs. It doesn’t charge more than $800 because people could then turn to sites like Kijiji to buy a dog instead.
There are about 30 to 40 foster families within the network. Kenny hopes to find more people who want to foster in Guelph because she lives there and can help the fosters with whatever they need.
One of those foster families is Jenna DeSilva and Kristina Jagger who live in Fergus. They started with the rescue in March. The couple has two cats Lionel and Nova. Since Jagger has never had a dog they thought this would be a good way to see what caring for a dog would be like.
Diva, a Labrador husky mix, was their first foster. She loved being outside and rolling around in the snow. Although giving her up was sad DeSilva was happy she could care for Diva before she found her forever home.
“It's nice to have a cute dog to hang out with for a little bit and give them somewhere to land and then not necessarily have to do the large time commitment of adopting your own dog yet,” said DeSilva.
It’s a team effort at the rescue with five people and countless volunteers. They drop off dog food, set up meet and greets at PetSmart, host a table at the Guelph Farmers’ Market and make sure fosters have everything they need.
Kenny has a contact list of about 500 adopters on her phone. Some send her photos of their dogs years later to show her how well they are doing.
Lauren Kane lives in Guelph with her dog Augusta who she adopted from the rescue. It was a new experience for Kane because she didn’t grow up with a family dog, so Augusta is her first dog.
She was rescued at two-days-old because her mom couldn’t produce milk to feed her puppies. The puppies were bottle-fed.
As a puppy she was curious and independent but when she tired herself out she didn’t want to be touched. Now she’s a cuddly dog. “She will never leave your side,” said Kane.
She’s been a great addition to Kane’s life but also the lives of others since she’s a therapy dog. Augusta cheers up students at the University of Guelph and residents at St. Joseph's Health Centre.
“So I definitely think that the experience of being able to adopt a dog from a rescue is really rewarding,” said Kane.
Ongarato’s parents Sandra and Scott knew when she moved out with Koda they would miss having a dog in their home. They adopted Taco from Southern Connection in 2022.
“I can't imagine him not being here,” said Sandra. “It's like he's always been with us.” Taco is Scott’s shadow. Wherever he is, Taco follows.
What the family loves about Southern Connection is it created a community for them to be a part of. There is a private Facebook group with adopters, fosters and volunteers where plenty of dog photos are shared. People celebrate birthdays, adoptions days, and pet parents get to see what their dog’s siblings look like now.
Kenny said every dog who has come through the rescue has been amazing. She hopes people who are passionate about rescue dogs join Southern Connection to volunteer, foster or adopt.
