The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Four award recipients from two different species were honoured at the recent annual meeting of the Flin Flon, Creighton and Area SPCA. Volunteers Patty Evans, Greg Evans, Kathy Lysohirka and a heroic dog named Toby received kudos from the animal-advocacy organization. Patty and Greg, a married couple, shared the award for 2012 Shelter Volunteer of the Year at the meeting, held April 17 at the Anglican Parish of St. Peter and St. James. In presenting Patty's plaque, SPCA treasurer Marg Bragg called her 'a reliable and faithful volunteer' at the animal shelter, helping to give the dogs 'extra long walks.' 'Often, after walking, Patty will pay a visit to the cat room, where she visits and plays with the cats,' said Bragg. SPCA director Lisa Goodfellow presented Greg with his plaque, noting he is Patty's partner in dog-walking and caring for cats at the shelter. 'On Fridays in winter, Greg will help walk the dogs then go home, jump on his snow machine, head back to the shelter and drag the walking trails through the bush for us,' Goodfellow said. 'He realizes that the groomed trails make it so much easier for staff and volunteers _ and the dogs _ to walk on. He does this on his own _ no one has ever asked him to do this for us.' Lysohirka accepted the 2012 Community Volunteer Award of the Year following many years of organizing fundraisers for the SPCA at her employer, Walmart. 'Every birthday of Kathy's has been marked with a fundraiser,' said SPCA director Sherry Barnett in introducing Lysohirka. 'Kathy would dress up in costume and fundraise for us at her till at Walmart. Often Walmart would match the donations with a donation of their own.' Barnett also commended Lysohirka for organizing gift drives for the SPCA, allowing animals in care to be 'showered with food, treats, toys, bedding, and cleaning supplies.' Last but far from least, Toby, a Yorkie, poodle and shitzu mix belonging to Charlene Pelly, was named the 2012 recipient of the Pet Hero award. In nominating Toby, Pelly, an insulin-dependent diabetic, relayed how her small dog can sense when her blood sugar is low _ and has rescued her more than once. Pelly wrote of one incident when she was home alone and, experiencing low sugar levels, failed to wake up when her alarm went off. Two coworkers arrived at Pelly's house to make sure she was okay. Even as they rang the doorbell and Toby barked, she did not wake up. 'So then he started going really crazy, jumping on my side of the bed and barking louder and louder trying hard to wake me up,' wrote Pelly. 'He finally woke me up enough to realize something was very wrong and then I heard my coworkers banging on the door and calling my name, so Toby led me to the door.' Pelly's coworkers saw she was acting strange and knew she was experiencing low sugar levels, so they mixed up some juice and sugar and told her to drink. Toby sat protectively watching her as they helped her bring her sugar levels back up. 'Toby is very protective of me and normally when strangers come to the house he is not very welcoming,' Pelly wrote, 'but he knows when my sugars are low and knows that I need help as I become very disoriented and often don't realize myself that my sugar is low.' Toby's plaque is engraved with a message that sums up his virtues: 'For acting upon life saving intuition and being a loyal friend.' Meanwhile, in her vice-president's report, Debbie Hiebert called the biggest accomplishment of the past year the Sept. 29 opening of the animal shelter off the Perimetre Highway. 'That is a day that will forever stay in my mind,' she said. Hiebert said the shelter is 'busy and running smoothly,' with plans now underway for a 'doggie playground.' In her treasurer's report, Bragg noted donations were up over the previous year as the SPCA boosted its profile in the community. Bragg said this year will give the SPCA a better idea of the annual operational costs of the shelter, including wages, vet bills, food, utilities and cleaning supplies. There were no additions to the executive as members enter the second half of their two-year terms. Judy Eagle is president, with Hiebert as vice-president and Bragg as treasurer. Shannon Thompson is the secretary. The directors are Goodfellow and Barnett along with Mike Blok, Tony Spooner, Melanie Rodabaugh and Kailyn Phillips.
