Call for Christmas Day canine lovers yields people to pack the halls of Animal Services
'I thought we'll just get a handful of people,' agency boss said as dog devotees vastly outnumber animals
About a 100 people lined up on Warnock Street on Tuesday afternoon for reasons that had more to do with boxers than Boxing Day sales.
Winnipeg's Animal Services put out a call for dog devotees willing to spend some time with uncaged canines on Christmas Day, when the city special operating agency usually doesn't have enough staff or volunteers to play with the animals more than once.
The invitation snowballed to the point where Animal Services had to call in two paid staff to work the holiday, anyway.
"We have 15 or 20 dogs in the building right now. We probably have 50 to 100 people here," said Leland Gordon, chief operating officer for Winnipeg Animal Services.
"I thought on Christmas Day, we'll just get a handful of people that want to come, so we created a Facebook event and of course it exploded, which we didn't anticipate."
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The crowd on Tuesday had to be split into two one-hour sessions to ensure there was enough room inside Animal Services' modest headquarters. Even so, people outnumbered dogs a margin of roughly four to one.
"For people who feel there are too many people, we apologize for that. But we couldn't anticipate it. At the end of the day, it's a good problem to have," Gordon said.
Raschelle Anos — who has a cat at home — said she was surprised but pleased by the the turnout.
"We just wanted to spend time with animals who don't have homes right now and try to spread some Christmas cheer," she said.
Playing with dogs is an entertaining way to spend Christmas Day, she said.
Nonetheless, there were not many dogs with which to play. Newly picked-up canines had to remain in their cages because Animal Services staff had yet to determine if they could safely interact with the public.
"Don't put your fingers through any of the cages!" Gordon implored the first batch of dog lovers. "Resist the temptation to touch the cute dogs through the cages!"
Resistance proved to be futile, as some people touched the caged dogs, anyway.
A handful of the animals were let into a pair of outdoor enclosures, where they were outnumbered 10 or 20 to one by human well-wishers.
Animal Services volunteer Kim Mosionier said she could not resist the call on Christmas Day.
"I have two dogs at home and I have family, but you know what? They need us more than anybody else right now," she said of the dogs.
Animal Services also asked for donations of canine-care supplies. Gordon said while they were welcome, he planned to ensure enough staff or volunteers are present during future holidays.
