Montreal Dog Blog Montreal's Online Dog Park
Related Articles
Christina Stelmazuk
Where in Montreal were you born?
I was born and raised in Lasalle in July of 1985.
Where do you live now and who lives with you?
I live in Brossard now for over four years. I live with my mother and sister, along with three cats and three dogs.
When did you first realize you wanted to help/work with animals. How old were you?
I have known for a long time. Ever since I was a child, I always loved animals and knew I held a special place for them in my heart. I was about seven when I knew I wanted to be involved with them in anyway I could, through working or volunteering. I have had animals my entire life.
What was your first job experience in working with/helping dogs and cats.
When I was eight years old, my sisters and I started walking our next door neighbor’s dog on the weekends for two dollars per walk. That was my first real job lol.
Tell us how many rescues you are involved with?
Do you foster, cross post for them?
I am currently involved with two rescues. I volunteer at the local Montreal SPCA emergency shelter and I help with the adoptions with Paws for Life. I cross post and I have fostered To be honest, fostering has never really worked out for me, because every time I have done it, I ended up adopting. My family and I just get so attached to them. We adopted our eight month old cat Vinnie from Paws for Life, and our dog Sasha also.
What are some of the things you have seen these past few months, stories good or bad
When you work/volunteer with animals, there are always sad and happy stories. The thing that breaks my heart the most about helping in rescuing animals is the sad stories that I hear. People abandon, abuse, neglect and use animals all the time, and I have never understood why. This is why I chose to want to help these poor souls, because they don’t have a choice on where they go or what happened to them. I want to help better the lives of these sweethearts and make sure they go to loving homes. Society has come a long way in the treatment towards animals. Although we are more aware of what goes on behind closed doors (ex- puppy mills) and we are fighting to put a stop to them, we still have a long way to go to end animal cruelty. I want to be a part of this fight until the very end.
There are good stories as well. I love to hear the ones when a dog or cat finds a loving home or was rescued from a situation where they were not being taken care of. The most recent success story that I have come across when helping animals was from my very own dog Sasha. Paws had rescued her from a puppy mill, when she was put into a foster home. When she was outside in the backyard she was spooked and ran under the fence, and went missing for 6 months. Volunteers from all over came to her help in hoping to catch her and bring her home. We received a message saying someone had caught her last week actually, and it happened to be about ten minutes from my home. I got the person’s phone number and within thirty minutes of receiving that message, she was in my arms and in her new forever home. She is an amazing dog, and we love her so much.
There will always be good and bad stories, and sometimes I get sad because of the bad stuff I hear. It’s the sad stories that push me to continue doing what I do because I want to continue to make a different in the lives of animals. I have learned a lot from my fellow volunteers from Paws and the SPCA. They love animals as much as I do, and their support also helps me to keep going. I wouldn’t see a meaning in my life without it.
What do you see in your future regarding helping animals.
I see myself continuing to help animals in anyways that I could. Whether it would be fostering (but not keep them lol), cross posting, volunteering, do transport, help with fundraisers, or adopt more. I can’t see myself stopping anytime soon. I have met so many wonderful people along the way that share the same passion that I do for animals. If I’m rich when I’m done school, I want to open a shelter of my own and give all animals a second chance at the life they deserve. In doing this I have been inspired by so many great people and only hope that I can do the same for others.
TPK
”In rescuing animals, I lost my mind, but found my soul.” ~anonymous
