Animal rescue board members engage community at special event

Animal lovers had the chance on Saturday to meet board members of Steinbach and Area Animal Rescue at a special event at Pet Valu. 

Linda Pollock was there. She has served on the board for the past year. 

“It’s been very rewarding,” she says. “Rewarding and yet, there’s a sense of, we would just like to be able to help every animal out there and it’s just impossible.” 

She says it’s important to be the voice for animals in need. 

Her husband Graham Pollock also serves on the board. He wants to spread the message of the importance of spaying and neutering pets. 

“We've had an absolute influx of kittens in the last month,” he says. “We've probably, I don't know the exact number, but I would venture to guess 17 to 20 kittens we've taken in, in the last month. And it's simply because people aren't neutering and spaying their animals. That's so important, not only to prevent the population from growing, but it's also for the animal's health. They're much healthier. They're not as prone to some of the diseases they can get as they get older, when they're neutered and spayed. 

“So, I think to bring awareness to the community for the importance of doing that, we try to help whenever we can, but we can only do so much. So that rescue building is going to be full pretty quick, I suspect, if it keeps continuing with the intakes that we're having right now. So, we need help from the community with that.” 

He says Saturday’s event was a great opportunity for people to find out who the board members are, and to engage in conversations about supporting abandoned and stray animals in the community. 

SAAR President Michelle Neufeld says it was also great to see long-time supporter Mikayla selling her bracelets at the event. 

Mikayla sells a variety of hand-crafted jewelry in support of Steinbach and Area Animal Rescue.

“She’s been with us for a while now, and she’s awesome,” Neufeld says, noting that Mikayla’s family has adopted some cats through the rescue. 

Mikayla had a full display of hand-crafted bracelets, selling them in support of SAAR. 

“Half the proceeds go towards the animal shelter, and the other half goes to more supplies for my jewelry,” she explains. “I just love animals.” 

June is Pet Appreciation Month at Pet Valu, so they invited board members of Steinbach and Area Animal Rescue to hang out for the day to answer questions about the new building, volunteer opportunities and fostering, and to hear ideas from the public. 

Neufeld says things are moving along with getting their new building set up for use. She notes there have been some delays and is looking forward to completion. The rescue is hearing from a lot of people who are interested in volunteering, which Neufeld says is great. She notes the rescue will still be relying on fosters. 

Board of Directors at Steinbach and Area Animal Rescue:

Michelle Neufeld, Graham Pollock, Shanna Freynet, Janelle Dawson, Kamryn Pidsadney, Carey Hawkins, Linda Pollock, Shaelyn Brosowsky, Heather Murray, Cheryl Murray.