West Edmonton dog spa partners with rescue team

By Christina Zoernig

EDMONTON — With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, one Edmonton charity is ready to extend the love to dogs in need by holding a fundraiser at a spa this Saturday.

The Humane Animal Rescue Team (HART), a local not-for-profit organization, is preparing for its next charity event at the Dirty Dog Spa at 10019 167 St. on Feb. 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  With a $30 donation, owners can book an appointment to come to the spa to give his or her pooch some TLC with a quality bath, blow dry and nail trim.

Running for several years, the Valentine’s Day Dog Wash was one of the ways that HART felt it could provide a hands-on experience for participants in a fundraiser by washing their own dog.

“We decided to have our volunteers get all sudsy with dogs in a way that we could raise awareness for dogs who don’t have individuals to take care of them,” said director Lyndsay Tischer of HART.

As the chosen location for this year’s Valentine’s Day Dog Wash, the Dirty Dog Spa is one of the charity’s numerous partners made through networking in the community and meetings at other events.

“The partnership with the Dirty Dog Spa [was made] when we were at an event and they were very interested in helping out different rescue groups,” said Tischer.  “It just worked that we were looking for a location for the 2012 Valentine’s Day Dog Wash.  In addition, they have some of our newly created HART merchandise in the front of their store as well.”

Lending a paw to those in need

The charity, which was established in 2003, operates out of foster homes in its network and relies on its volunteers to help them in their cause.  While there are other rescue groups who don’t run in a facility, it proves to be challenging for HART — but that hasn’t stopped them yet.

“One of our major constraints is the attraction and retention of foster homes,” said Tischer. “They’re the individuals that open their homes and their hearts to the dogs that we’re able to rescue and we never seem to have enough foster homes.”

While the number of foster homes fluctuates, the charity currently has about 20 foster homes and a core team of 15 individuals.  For events and fundraisers there is a team of about 35 to 45 people who help out without including the foster parents, but HART is always looking for volunteers to lend a hand.

In addition to the fluctuating number of foster homes, there is no set number of dogs that are on the streets.  HART deals with rescues from the Hobbema area where the overpopulation problem is vastly increasing.

“There’s a distinct problem,” said Tischer.  “It’s anywhere where there is uncontrolled breeding, so it’s not just the area we are rescuing from but from other rural areas as well.  Every year it increases and that is by the sheer biology of the dogs reproducing.”

Home is where the HART is

With a list of dedicated and loving foster homes, the Onisko family is one of many who actively take part in the transition process for rescued dogs.  Joining HART in December 2009, the Oniskos have taken four dogs into their home alongside their own canine named Buck — who also helps by keeping the dogs in their place.

Of those dogs, their most memorable is the ‘gentle giant’ named Duke, who was in their home during Thanksgiving in 2010.  While most of the dogs they had fostered were there for about a month or two, Duke wasn’t ready to be adopted so soon.

“Why we had him for so much longer was because he wasn’t even adoptable for the first couple of months since he needed so much work to be socialized,” said wife Charlene.

Last year in the fall, Duke had been adopted by a family but had been returned to the Oniskos just a week ago — a rare occurrence in the adoption process.  Despite not having the right fit between the large black dog and the adoptive family, the Oniskos are determined to find a loving home that will be just right for Duke.

“I think the other rewarding thing about HART is we choose where he goes,” said husband Tony.  “HART has a hand and will notify us of people who are interested, but we have the final say as to yes or no.”

For their 10-year-old daughter, Ivy, her favourite part is as simple as getting to cuddle with the dogs that come into their home.  Much like their parents, both Ivy and her younger sister Lily actively take part in the process of fostering rescued dogs.

Making a “fur-ever friend”

With a nice smelling and clean dog at the end of the appointment, participants will be able to actively take part in the effort to help dogs in need. All the proceeds from the Valentine’s Day Dog Wash are going directly towards HART’s rescue operations and the medical needs to help more canines.

Participants will have a chance to meet volunteers and see displays put up to show the “behind the scenes” of their operation as they continue to attract volunteers and foster parents.

“”We’ve helped over 800 dogs find a new home filled with love, warmth and happiness,” said Tischer.  “What we’d like to do is continue our rescue rehabilitation and rehoming efforts, but no we want to put a special emphasis on reducing the overpopulation problem in a humane way.”

HART would like to do some additional spay and neuter clinics, as well as enhance the current programs it has had over the past few years.

Appointments for the Valentine’s Day Dog Wash can be booked at 780-983-7706.

For those who cannot make it or don’t have a dog, HART takes monetary donations on its website or by cheque.  Individuals who are interested in becoming volunteers or fostering dogs can get more information at the fundraiser or through HART.