WINNIPEG – Chelsea Kork is still coming to terms about what happened to her longtime friend Amanda Nobiss who died during a tragic animal rescue while volunteering. The 37-year-old, who volunteered for K9 Advocacy Manitoba, was in Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation, about 180 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, where she often visited to save animals. On this particular visit, Kork said Nobiss was rescuing a mom and her newborn puppies in the community, but the rescue ended in tragedy. “What we believe happened was that there must have been a feral, vicious dog who attacked her and she passed away,” said Kork, a director for K9 Advocacy Manitoba. The Manitoba First Nations Police Service (MFPS) provided an update to the investigation into Nobiss’ death Tuesday. “She had planned to pick up several puppies from a local resident. It is believed that Amanda came to the residence alone when the occupant was not home and came into contact with the occupant’s dogs, who were protective and aggressive,” part of a statement on the police service’s Facebook page reads. “The results of a post-mortem examination indicated Amanda’s injuries were consistent with a dog attack.” The police service says arrangements were made with the band to “destroy two male dogs.” A female dog and several puppies were rescued by K9 Advocacy Manitoba. “We go to these communities all the time, it’s nothing new,” said Kork. “I have been doing this for 19 years and there are lots of times when I go by myself and I think nothing of it and she thought nothing of it.” “Just the worst thing that could’ve possibly happened, happened.” Sounding the alarm For years, animal rescues across Manitoba have raised concerns about animal overpopulation, public safety, and the ongoing lack of accessible veterinary care and support in rural, and remote First Nations communities. According to advocacy group, Save a Dog Network, there are around 1,000 dog bites reported each month throughout the 63 First Nations communities in Manitoba, but those, Kork says, are just the ones that are reported. She believes the actual number is much higher. “Manitoba has a dog overpopulation crisis, and I think it’s unlike anywhere else in Canada,” she said. Kork says Nobiss’ death was preventable, and immediate solutions are needed to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again. “If we just had more spaying and neutering and we had bylaws and we had animal control officers in every community, things like this wouldn’t be occurring,” she said. “But it takes a collaborative effort to put that in place and get bylaws going and get them enforced and rescued. We can’t do it alone, we just can’t. We’re kind of at our wit’s end.” K9 Advocacy Manitoba, along with Partners in Prevention, the Winnipeg Humane Society and 15 other animal rescues and organizations in the province, are calling on the federal, provincial and municipal governments to provide immediate action and funding. They say “band-aid solutions are no longer enough” to address “systemic gaps that have led to a provincial public-health crisis.” The groups are calling for an immediate roundtable meeting with all levels of government, Manitoba rescue organizations, and First Nations leadership to develop a long-term strategy. They want sustained government investment in veterinary care, spay and neuter programs, food support, education, and other resources to improve animal welfare, public safety and community well-being. A spokesperson for Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn, who is also responsible for animal health and welfare, said the minister is committed to collaborating with animal advocacy groups moving forward. “The minister’s office met with the Winnipeg Humane Society on Monday and had a productive conversation about this matter,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “At the moment, we are waiting for the results of the police investigation to fully understand what happened.” The time for change is now Christina Von Schindler, chief executive officer of the Winnipeg Humane Society, says all levels of government must work together to address the issue. “We tend to think of community health services as involving people only, and even there I would say we fall short, but the fact of the matter is that a community is only as healthy as all of its members, including its animal members,” Von Schinlder said. Legal advocacy groups, including Animal Justice, have also been working with rescue organizations to push for action. Lawyer Kaitlyn Mitchell says governments need to move beyond “one-off” commitments. “What I’d really like to see is a committee set up to make sure that the hard work is actually done to prevent these types of incidents in the future,” Mitchell said. “What we need is not more funding for a discrete project here and there, although that’s important, but we really need a comprehensive, community-led action and leadership from the provincial and federal governments.” ‘Our people are in jeopardy’ Grand Chief Garrison Settee says First Nations communities across Manitoba need resources to reduce the overpopulation of dogs, which he says has been a growing issue for years. He said keeping folks in these communities safe is paramount. “It can get dangerous, and it can cost people’s lives which is something that should never happen,” said Settee, leader of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO). “We’re seeing a lot of things happening when it comes to the safety of our people. It has been happening a long time and it has not been adequately addressed and it’s costing the lives of people, so I think it’s time to act before anybody else gets hurt.” Settee says he would support a process where advocacy groups, all levels of government and First Nations leadership work together to address these ongoing issues. “Just talking about it and complaining about it will not do anything, but we need to plan together and execute this plan for the safety of our people,” he said.
