Before we meet her rescue dogs, Kym Spencer introduces us to her Norse gods. “This is Odin,” Spencer says, pointing to a larger-than-life painting of the mythological character attached to one side of her fence, before walking over to the other. “And this is Freya. She travels with cats and a boar, so an animal lover like me.” Spencer originally painted them for a festival before using them as Halloween decorations. She says she kept them up along the sidewalk in front her house to be neighbourly. “To get to know people in a weird and wonderful way,” Spencer explains. Some of those people have even told her that she looks like the descendent of Vikings. “I also dress like a Viking because it’s really easy,” Spencer says before showing a picture of her posing in costume in front of her Odin painting. “You just put on some leather and fur and there you go! Instant Viking!” While she’s not aware of any Nordic heritage and certainly doesn’t connect with the violence often associated with Vikings, she does relate to them in at least one way. “I do have this fierce protector thing about me,” Spencer says. After working in paediatric psychiatry and teaching children with disabilities, Spencer agreed to rescue a dog, Gregory, that was set to be euthanized at an animal shelter in Los Angeles. “It hurts my heart,” Kym says with a sigh. When she later learned other dogs in that city were being abandoned because their owners were unexpectedly detained or deported, Spencer decided — like a Viking —to embark on a quest to save as many as she could. “I have dogs,” Spencer says. “I can’t imagine being ripped away from them and knowing they’re going to die.” After travelling across land, sea and air, Spencer spent the final stages of her latest quest in the back of a small van. “This is where I slept,” Spencer explains, pointing to the one sliver of space between the three crates the dog travelled in. “It wasn’t fun. It was stinky, but you got to do what you got to do when you’re saving lives.” Now, the seventh dog that Spencer has brought back to B.C. — named Wiggle Waggle — is ready to be adopted. “With what’s going on in the world,” Spencer says. “It just feels good to do something.” She adds that it also feels really good to unleash a little Viking energy to help others. “Seize life by the horns! Be a decent human!,” Spencer says, smiling. “Just wake up every day and go ‘What can I do to make the world better?’”
