The NWT SPCA had something to look forward to this week and it was perfect timing with National Pet Day, which occurred on April 11.

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon outside their shelter came a truck packed with four students from St. PatrickSA国际影视传媒檚 High School.

John White was the man behind the wheel and the teacher of those four students. He explained they were at the shelter donating animal houses his students had been building for the past couple of weeks.

SA国际影视传媒淭his was a project in our leadership and resiliency program at St. PatSA国际影视传媒檚,SA国际影视传媒� White explained. SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 a class for Indigenous students to teach them valuable skills and how to become leaders in our communities.SA国际影视传媒�

Part of that program includes community service, White said, and his students decided as a group they wanted to help pets.

SA国际影视传媒淲e though itSA国际影视传媒檇 be a good idea, as a class, to learn some construction skills and teamwork skills, and be able to donate our finished project,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

For White, he said itSA国际影视传媒檚 been great seeing his students band together for a good cause.

Despite the learning curve, none of them quit.

SA国际影视传媒淎 lot of laughter and a lot of perseverance,SA国际影视传媒� he noted.

Jaylyn Gaudet and Liyah Yakeleya-Grymaloski, both in Grade 9, were two of the students helped build these houses. For Gaudet, she stressed it was no easy task.

SA国际影视传媒淚t was hard, really hard,SA国际影视传媒� she laughed, noting that drilling was a sure challenge.

Yakeleya-Grymaloski has been in the shelter before and said the animals were cute. When asked how they feel about their accomplishment, the answer was simple: happy.

SA国际影视传媒淗appy they have a house to be in,SA国际影视传媒� said Gaudet.

Samantha Laviolette, who works at the SPCA, said being a responsible pet owner is as personal as it is important.

SA国际影视传媒淚, like most people, just was like SA国际影视传媒極h yeah, I want a dogSA国际影视传媒�,SA国际影视传媒� she explained. SA国际影视传媒淗e ended up being super reactive. I had to pivot and learn a lot about dogs to meet his needs.SA国际影视传媒�

That was back in 2018, when she adopted her pet also from the SPCA. Since then, she said sheSA国际影视传媒檚 gained tons of experience working with dogs and what it means to be a responsible pet owner. For her, it comes down to communication.

SA国际影视传媒淭o be a responsible dog owner, especially, we need to understand what our dogs are trying to communicate to us,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淭hey are brought into our world, but donSA国际影视传媒檛 necessarily want to play by our rules.SA国际影视传媒�

Laviolette also mentioned her job can be pretty emotional, but there is a payoff to the work she does.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 always nice when people, months or years down line, reach out and let us know what their dogs theySA国际影视传媒檝e adopted form us are doing,SA国际影视传媒� Laviolette said, adding that sheSA国际影视传媒檚 seen her fair share of Facebook posts that celebrate the pets adopted from the SPCA.

SA国际影视传媒淛ust thinking about where they started and what situations they came from and watching them adventure across Canada and do these things is really heartwarming.SA国际影视传媒�