TORONTO -- Thanks to a $250,000 donation, Nunavut’s only humane society is now about halfway to its $1 million fundraising goal to replace its old facility.
“Humans can be so generous and it really caught us by surprise,” Iqaluit Humane Society president Janelle Kennedy told CTVNews on Sunday. The current building, housed on property owned by the city, is now condemned because of a mould problem and will be torn down in the spring or summer of 2021.
The hefty donation to the society's Million Dollar Mission building fund was thanks to Eric S. Margolis Family Foundation -- which has offered a helping hand to the humane society from time to time in the past.
“We weren’t sure what to expect but their generosity surpassed everything we could’ve possibly imagined,” Kennedy said. “The one thing I did say to the Margolis family immediately is ‘thank you for seeing us.’ .. it's been very humbling”
Canada’s northernmost humane society has been around for 13 years and re-homes up to 700 pets every year, in many cases, to other parts of the country. The modest space, the size of a bachelor apartment, is currently home to 13 dogs and one cat but can only house up to 28 to 30 animals.
“We are stunned, humbled and down a few boxes of tissues. To everyone who has donated so far, your kindness has been matched with kindness,” the group said on its , saying “The holidays came early.”
“We cannot thank them enough for the continued support and this unbelievable act of generosity towards our shelter," the post continued, giving a special shoutout to Eric Margolis, and including a photo of a cuddly rescue pup named George.
In total, the for the humane society has currently raised $490,714 so far.
GETTING TO A MILLION DOLLARS IS STILL THE GOAL
With this donation, Kennedy explained they theoretically could build a barebones facility to simply “hold animals and continue the basics of our operations so we don’t have to close our doors.”
But they’re not shrinking away from their $1-million goal now because they want a desperately needed facility to serve the entire territory. She compared it to seeing the sun poking out on a cloudy day at the beach.
“We had this bigger dream … that we could actually establish an animal rescue and homing facility here in Iqaluit for the territory that is comparable, at least almost on par with what other provinces and territories enjoy, you know?” Kennedy said. “They’re not operating out of one-bedroom apartment-condemned buildings. They have proper facilities.”
She said they’re “used to managing its expectations and … making do with what we’ve got,” sharing that she recently fashioned a discarded tin box into a makeshift phone holder.
Kennedy explained a $1-million facility will be able to include spaces for animal housing, first aid, grooming, adoption and veterinary checks. And she added that it’s a cheaper option to build it all at once, rather than erecting a parred-down building that’ll need to be expanded upon later.
But she fully acknowledges that even a million-dollar space will be modest. “But we’re aiming to do it all and to do it right.”
SOLDIERING ON
“There are so many things going on in the world that needs our attention and our care … and that couldn’t be more true in the north,” Kennedy said. “There’s so much social and economic need that quite often even on funding proposals we get overlooked, and it’s not anybody’s fault because there are just many things that need funding.”
Currently, when the Iqaluit Humane Society reaches capacity they turn to the few local foster groups in the city, as well as the Sash-Mar Paws, an Animal Rescue Service, that helps connect them with credible foster homes in the Ottawa region.
Anyone looking to donate to the cause can find more information at the .
With files from CTVNews.ca writer Graham Slaughter
