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Northern Transitional Dog Rescue is located 30 minutes north of Meadow Lake. (Submitted photo/Amanda Harder)
health and safety

Animal rescue partners with LLRIB, Waterhen Lake

Jan 29, 2025 | 3:56 PM

Residents of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band and Waterhen Lake First Nation will have further support when it comes to aggressive, stray or at-large dogs in their communities.

That’s thanks to a new partnership with Northern Transitional Dog Rescue (NTRD) and the two First Nations. The dog rescue, which is located 30 minutes north of Meadow Lake, was launched two months ago by Amanda Harder and her partner Josh Voth.

“I started the initiative because on our local reserve, we see firsthand the overpopulation of dogs and how it leads to a lot of community safety issues and things like that,” Harder said.

“We are basically taking dogs, either the ones who are strays or who have owners, we bring them to our facility. I am a professional dog trainer, so what we do is we vaccinate them, we quarantine them, we spay and neuter them, and then we basically teach them house manners [and] train them if they are aggressive. We train them to be friendly, then we bring them back to the reserve so they can continue to be an integral part of the community.”

NRTD is located on 160 acres of land, which the dogs are allowed to roam free with the assistance of boundary collars. The rescue also makes use of a 40-foot by 40-foot building for the dogs that need to be quarantined.

Currently, the dog rescue has 20 puppies, three dams and 14 free-roaming dogs. Some of the dogs are up for adoption, some are at the sanctuary on a full-time basis and some of the dogs belong to Harder and Voth.

The animal rescue acts as a sanctuary for aggressive, stray or at-large dogs. (Submitted photo/Amanda Harder)

“Dogs that have been in humane societies for years end up coming to us, and we have them end up living out the rest of their days on the sanctuary,” Harder said.

“Injured dogs, dogs with medical issues. It is kind of a safe haven for dogs, so they don’t end up getting euthanized.”

Harder explained the partnership between NRTD and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band came about through their association with Northern Animal Rescue (NAR). Volunteers with NAR encouraged Harder to reach out to the band and Harder noted her communication with Lac La Ronge Indian Band has been positive.

“It was actually NAR who told us to partner with La Ronge,” Harder said.

“I think they have been kind of at a lost at what to do with the dogs in the community. They transport them down for me, then we take them, rehabilitate them and train them and re-home and, in some cases if they have owners, we bring them back to the community. It has been NAR that has been the driving force in this partnership.”

Anyone interested in adopting a dog through NRTD can do so by reaching out to the rescue through its Facebook page or via email. The cost to adopt is $250.

derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com