8 Questions with C4P Animal Rescue
Program Director: M. MICHELLE NADON
Location: Aurora, ON (since 2003)
Animals rescued: dogs, cats & many others
https://www.c4panimalrescue.ca/
Interview by Allan Tong
(December 2018)
How did C4P Animal rescue start?
C4P was formed after I secured custody of a backyard Toronto dog named Max whose well-being I’d been advocating for six full years. When Max was finally diagnosed terminally, his family took me up on my offer to bring him in from the cold, and provide hospice services for his final weeks. Some rescue colleagues got together to raise funds for his medical expenses, and C4P was born.
Which animals does C4P rescue?
Just about every animal imaginable: dogs, cats, squirrels, rats, beavers, skunks, raccoons, and more ducks, pigeons, hawks, Canada geese and seagulls than I care to count! In 2012, I was called on to re-home 125 farm animals from a Quebec rescue that was disbanding. With the help of Ralphy’s Retreat and Farm Sanctuary, we found safe placements for them all on vegan Ontario farms. I’ve also led dozens and dozens of dog searches.
How did you get involved and what is your role?
It’s more like: “How can you not be involved?” I cannot walk away from an animal in need. I started with a one-time solo rescue, which soon mushroomed into a dozen+ palliative dogs. In 2005, I journeyed to Hurricane Katrina to bring dogs home to safety in Canada. It was then that I found out about the larger rescue community. With a growing mailing list, I began publishing updates on our southern rescues. From there, the C4P Animal Rescue newsletter evolved—which I published for the ensuing 12 years.
What is the number-one challenge in running C4P?
Monetizing our efforts! The general public doesn’t understand that rescuers are not reliably funded, privately or publically. Folks sure are happy to gain from our knowledge, contacts and resources to “get a problem off their hands,” but seldom do they value the work enough to even make a donation. And I’m not the only one. I know hundreds of people just like me in animal rescue. We devote our lives to this work and raise money for it ourselves,
however, we can.
Is society catching onto the Adopt-Don't-Shop movement?
In the last decade, we’ve seen substantive reductions in shelter admissions, but the volume of animals needing re-homing for circumstantial reasons remains unabated. More of the population would now rather adopt than shop, but animal rescue is still most disheartening due to few advances on laws in general, incessant backyard breeders, and the persistent commodification of animals in aquariums and zoos.
How should someone who wants a rescue pet prepare? What should they do?
People need to research breeds and breed-specific training and consult with reputable rescue organizations and veterinarians in order to fully understand the commitment required to introduce a dog to a new environment, let alone train and care for him/her for the next 15 years. I really wish people would make better-informed decisions as they prepare to welcome a new family member and all it entails.
What is a typical day at C4P like?
It’s completely unpredictable – and almost always “an emergency.” It can be any animal, under any circumstances: re-homings, behavioural issues, a missing cat, an injured wild animal, or a farm animal in dire straights. Thankfully, the C4P Animal Rescue network has grown to such a degree, that we now have solid hands-on rescuers in almost every aspect of animal caregiving. So I have lots of resources and established relationships to call on, to help almost any animal.
Tell us about your own history and passion for animals.
I consider each animal a “living piece of art.” I made friends with my first squirrel when I was five years old. In our home, animals came and we rejoiced, and then went, and we were inconsolable. Animals are the most vulnerable in all of society, and enjoy so little lawful protection. That’s enough of an argument for me! The price is worth it for the love given and the personal satisfaction of contributing to their well-being.