Debbie Reynolds holds a five-week-old puppy in her arms at her rural home near Daysland, Alberta. The tiny brown pup with floppy, asymmetrical ears, is listless and weak.
Just days earlier, Debbie rescued a litter of puppies in very bad health. To Debbie, the most important thing was giving these tiny creatures a better chance at life than they’d been given.
Despite her best efforts to nurse them back to health, the puppies died, one by one. She held the sole survivor close and pleaded for him to stay alive. Three times that night he died in her arms, but as if revived by her love and care, he would come back, open his eyes and give Debbie a tiny kiss. As morning dawned and it seemed the puppy would pull through, Debbie thought of a fitting name. She decided to call him Trooper.
As she tells this story today, almost a year later, Trooper sits by her side — nearly grown into his signature ears. There’s that contented canine grin on his face too, knowing that the love and cuddles that saved his life are never far.
Every dog’s story is different. But Trooper is just one of the hundreds of dogs who’ve been given the chance they deserve by Canine Love Dog Rescue.
Debbie Reynolds, manager of Canine Love Dog Rescue, has always had dogs in her life. Even as a child, she’d watch as her father raised and trained labs. One even became a world-renowned championship dog.
“His name is Lean Mack because my maiden name is McLean,” says Debbie. “If people go onto Google, they can still find his grand puppies breaking records all over the place. So I’ve had dogs in my blood since I was young.”
Debbie’s father, Jock MacLean, always dreamed of opening a dog rescue. And when Debbie suffered an injury that prevented her from continuing her job as a healthcare aide decades later, she knew it was time to carry on her father’s legacy and make their shared dream come true.
Anyone who knows Debbie knows that once she sets her mind to something, she can’t be stopped. She requested funding from Towns in the Flagstaff area with no luck, but she didn’t let the speed bump keep her down. Instead, she and her partner Chris Cleland started hosting events and auctions to raise the funds needed to convert their acreage into a fully operational rescue facility.
That was two years ago. What was once Debbie and Chris' pig barn is now a heated shelter with 14 pens, and what was once their barnyard is now 16 outdoor pens and a dog run. Canine Love has rescued over 450 dogs to date and they've had as many as 42 dogs at once — all with no staff or funding. The facility is fuelled by Debbie’s determination and help from family, neighbours and friends.
Debbie and Chris typically learn about dogs in need, pick them up and bring them to the rescue just 30 minutes from Camrose. They’ll nurse them back to health, get them vaccinated, and if funding allows, get them spayed or neutered before putting them up for adoption. When they’re ready, Debbie will then post photos and a description of the dogs on her Facebook page in hopes of finding them loving homes.
As you can imagine, Debbie has seen some heartbreaking situations. But the sad stories quickly turn into happy ones the longer the dogs stay at Canine Love. She says the job is especially rewarding when, as a result of a safe and healthy environment, the dogs transform from skin and bones to healthy weights, timid to exuberant, and homeless to being adopted by a caring family.
Although Debbie and Chris have been the muscle and innovators behind Canine Love, they haven’t done it alone. Neighbours and friends help out with feeding, socializing and cleaning up after the dogs.
They’ve also seen incredible support from locals. Pet stores in the area donate food they don’t sell, local groomers and trainers have offered support and the nearby veterinarian college students have offered to spay/neuter a few dogs a month.
Debbie couldn’t be more grateful for the help. She says people don’t realize how expensive it is to just feed the dogs, let alone pay for the vet bills to get them healthy and ready for adoption. Recently, she rescued one dog who needed almost $5,700 in vet services.
Canine Love is always looking for volunteers and donations. The dogs waiting for homes get lonely, so volunteers are needed to spend time with them at the rescue just half an hour from Camrose. If you love dogs and have a little extra time in the day, contact Debbie.
Canine Love has also just opened a store in Daysland called House of Pawz where they collect donations and sell items from local artisans with a portion of the proceeds going to the rescue. Debbie is also in need of volunteers for the store.
Please call Debbie at 780-695-9229 or message her on the Canine Love Facebook page to enquire about adoptions, donations or volunteer opportunities.
