From rescuing ‘rez dogs’ to opening a shelter: How June Thomas changed 200 lives in Manitoba

In 2017, June Thomas began rescuing stray “rez dogs” from her own home on Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation in southern Manitoba, driven by concern for the many unvaccinated, unsterilised animals roaming the reserve. After surveying 200 homes, helping sterilise more than 65 dogs and cats and coordinating several on-reserve clinics, she has now opened what she believes is Manitoba’s first on-reserve animal shelter. The facility, run under her organisation Ginew Animal Care Services, aims to provide a sustainable, community-led solution to overpopulation and disease while reducing the need to transport pets off-reserve for basic care, according to IndigiNews.From a personal loss to a community missionJune Thomas’s journey began with grief. Her beloved dog Bessie fell ill and died from canine parvovirus, a highly contagious and often fatal disease that spreads quickly among unvaccinated dogs. Watching Bessie suffer made Thomas realise how vulnerable animals were in her community, where access to routine veterinary care, vaccinations and spay-and-neuter services was limited. What started as a small home-based effort she called “June’s Adoptables” gradually grew as more dogs and cats...