Rescue workers from Saving Grace Animal Society in Alberta saved 105 dogs from the La Loche cull scheduled for last Saturday. (Submitted Photo/Erin Deems)

By Julia Lovett-Squires

Rescued dogs

Over 100 dogs rescued from cull in La Loche

Mar 10, 2025 | 3:29 PM

After the Northern Village of La Loche announced an animal surrender last week, Erin Deems, executive director with Saving Grace Animal Society, jumped into action.

“I ended up with 105, like that’s a miracle.”

Deems, who is based out of Alberta, explained she has worked in La Loche previously and said the idea that northern communities are getting to the point where they’re having “a knee-jerk reaction” to the situation is sad.

One of the rescues. (Submitted Photo/Erin Deems)

It was a now viral video of a pack of dogs fighting in the street, which ended up in the death of one of them, that led to her and her team into travelling to the community to offer any help they could.

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“I decided on Friday at 2 o’clock that I would go, and I was on the road by 4 o’clock,” she said.

BattlefordsNOW has reached out multiple times to the village and is awaiting a response.

The executive director and another rescuer stayed in Buffalo Narrows for the night and then got to the village by noon on Saturday, one hour before the surrender – effectively a cull – was scheduled to start and filled their van to the brim with dogs within 45 minutes.

“We realized that we just couldn’t leave it at that, like we just did not have the space.”

As the team were driving away, they made a decision to come back the next day and pick up another 64 on Sunday. Now that the dogs have been rescued and settled, roughly 15 shelters across western Canada from Saskatchewan to British Columbia are awaiting their arrival.

“I can’t explain it any other way than it was rewarding,” said Deems, adding it all sounds bad.

In fact, it’s just the opposite.

(Submitted Photo/Erin Deems)

“All of that sounds like saving a life to me,” she said.

Saving Grace has a maxim that while they may not be able to change the world, for that dog, the world can change forever.

“We just went with that kind of notion… even if it’s just for that one dog and each one of those dogs we know we saved from a potentially terrible fate,” she said.

The village, for their part, has posted to their social media that dog registration forms may be picked up at the village office until March 21 and that a vet would be available for sterilization. They would also subsidize 20 per cent of the cost.

As the team was rounding up the dogs, Deems said community members were sharing concerns.

“They know that there is a large free roaming dog population and unfortunately the access to veterinary care is quite a ways away,” she said.

“We did hear from a lot of the community members that they were worried about their children and their dogs.”

Deems said the next step now is to implement village bylaws that include Bylaw 2-99 Running at Large of Dogs, education and having an effective dog control program plan in place.

“Creating a healthy dog population, creates a healthier human population,” she said.

(Submitted Photo/Erin Deems)

“They’ve got a long way to go, but I think this brought light to it.”

In addition to the registration that began today (March 10), there will also be a clinic at the end of the month for vaccination and other health initiatives. The executive director said although upfront costs would be pricey, setting up spay and neuter clinics would be beneficial.

“That would be a huge change in their dog population,” she said.

“They all need to make sure that they’re doing their due diligence before they make a knee-jerk reaction – let’s be proactive not reactive.”

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julia.lovettsquires@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: juleslovett.bsky.social