Animal lovers need to rescue SPCA Ouest- de- L’Île

Welfare organization needs to raise $ 55,000 or close its doors, Marla Newhook writes.

If you are, or have ever been, an animal lover, this is your chance to put your money where your heart is.

The SPCA Ouest-de- L’Île in Vaudreuil- Dorion is in danger of closing its doors at the end of the month if they can’t come up with $ 55,000. They’ve started an online fundraising campaign to raise the money and the tally was up to almost $ 29,000 at last check.

As I write this, my 5- year- old black lab mix, Jonas, is lying at my feet on his bed with a tennis ball on one side of him and his rawhide bone on the other. He’s brought nothing but unconditional love into our home. He’s the first one to greet me when I walk through the door, follows me around the house from room to room and hogs half the bed during the night. If I were to enter him in a cuddling contest, he would win, paws down.

It was as a foster dog with the SPCA Montreal that we first brought Jonas home. With kennel cough, he couldn’t be adopted until he finished his course of medical treatment. Well, at the end of the six weeks we couldn’t bear to have anyone else adopt him so he became ours permanently.

It is a proven fact that animals play an important role in our overall well- being and emotional health. Studies show that depression and high blood pressure are reduced in pet owners. Furthermore, levels of serotonin and dopamine ( calming neurotransmitters) are elevated in pet owners versus those without pets. As if that wasn’t convincing enough, heart patients who are pet owners live longer than those without pets.

For seniors, the stats show that those pet owners over 65 make 30- per- cent fewer visits to the doctor. Let’s not forget to mention the companionship a pet brings to a senior who may be totally socially and emotionally isolated. It might be the only physical and emotional connection they have with another living being on a regular basis.

So, there you have it. Even science backs up the validity of pet ownership.

Rescue animals have so much to offer. It’s almost as if they appreciate their sheer luck of being adopted and make up for it with lifelong loyalty. In a documentary called, Dogs on the Inside, inmates of a Massachusetts correctional facility were put in charge of neglected and abused shelter dogs and the transformation is amazing, in both the inmates and dogs.

Everyone deserves a second chance, and in the 15 months that the SPCA Ouest-de- L’Île has been open, 1,052 shelter dogs have been given that second chance and placed in their forever homes.

As a community, it’s time to rescue the rescuer and make sure the operation continues to serve our vulnerable animal population. The goal is $ 55,000, but why stop there? Why not blow that number out of the water and raise thousands more to ensure the future of this much- needed facility?

To make your donation, please visit www. gofundme. com/ spcaouest.