Sioux Looks Out For Paws animal rescue in need of volunteers

Andre Gomelyuk - Staff Writer

Sioux Looks Out For Paws animal rescue is looking for the community’s help.
Lynda Ducharme, Chair of Sioux Looks Out For Paws, said the organization is in need of volunteers and detailed the type of volunteer work that is available, “If we have dogs, we need to provide at least four shifts a day, and if we are full, we might need two to three people to do the shift, because it is a lot of work, [the kennel] has to be cleaned out everyday, there is also laundry, and then general cleaning of the floors and stuff.” Ducharme said there is also a need for volunteers to drive animals to veterinarian services. If you might be thinking that I have no car, don’t worry, as Durcharme shares, “Sometimes just even walking the dog for exercise, there are some people that specifically just walk and those are always needed.” 
“There is always money for vets required, none of our animals are really ever healthy,” Ducharme added. 
The organization shared that they have found new homes for close to 200 animals this year. “We had lots of litters of puppies and lots of litters of kittens, they don’t stay with us too long, so it is like a revolving door.” 
The animal rescue’s number one priority is for intakes of animals that are from our community and animals that are in an unsafe condition, with young animals taking priority over an animal someone wants to surrender. 
Ducharme said Sioux Looks Out For Paws is extremely grateful for all the support they have received from the community over the years. “We just want to nudge people for a little bit more help, there are always new people coming into town that haven’t thought about it.” For those that are interested in getting involved, Sioux Looks Out For Paws has a Facebook page called Sioux Lookout Rescue. Ducharme said this is the best way to contact them about getting involved, whether it is with volunteering, fostering, or driving. 
Ducharme said animals sometimes stay with veterinary services the entire day, which is why the organization shared, “they (volunteer drivers) don’t need to stay for the whole day, if they only want to drop them off, we can arrange another driver to pick them up.” The organization is also seeking people who can provide temporary foster care for animals until their adopter is ready to take them in. 
The organization affirmed, “We don’t want to rush the adopter. We want to make sure it is a good fit.” Ducharme also shared, “I would also like to mention we also already applied for charitable status, and that will allow us to give people receipts if they give us larger donations.”
“I think it is the responsibility of the community to take care of our animals. I think if we work together, it will be a lighter work for everyone,” Ducharme said. She concluded, “I saw, when I first started, many animals dying of heat exhaustion. I saw many cats that climbed into vehicles and burned their eyes and lost ears and broken legs and dogs too. We don’t have that happen anymore, we established ourselves in the community, so it has to be a community effort.”