Every spring, the stray dogs around Wahpeton Dakota Nation start to run in packs.
To housing manager Allen Laurin, the dogs are a menace. They’ve been known to attack kids in the community.
Usually, he said, the reserve hires someone to catch and euthanize the dogs. But this year, Laurin hit on a more humane option.
“I was looking for a way to resolve this issue before it happens again,” he said, “and I went to the SPCA in Prince Albert.”
The SPCA was happy to help. On Wednesday, they’re coming to collect about a dozen dogs, and six cats, from Wahpeton. The animals will be spayed or neutered, and then put up for adoption.
Community members will pitch in to apprehend them, Laurin said. SPCA operations manager Liana Maloney said the plan is to have the dogs and cats contained by the time her staff get to the reserve.
Maloney said the partnership is part of a broader push to help reserves solve problems with feral animals without resorting to deadly methods.
For more on this story, please see the March 14 print or e-edition of the Daily Herald.
