Cinderella Fund supports special needs animals at no-kill shelter

AMANDA FOLLETT CANMORE

The 100-pound bullmastiff would make any room look small as she bounds around, excitedly bucking and greeting her visitors. From her enormous head hang two floppy lips, which plaster hands with slobbery salutations.

What Belle lacks in elegance she makes up for in affection, but despite the lumbering beast's disposition toward humans, her strength, combined with unpredictable aggression toward other dogs, has earned her an indefinite sentence at the Carla Cumming Sojonky Adoption Centre in Canmore. In fact, Belle could be the poster girl for a facility committed to making life comfortable for animals that may never be adoptable.

"She's as symbolic as it's possible to be for what we stand for," Bow Valley SPCA board member Joseph Potts says as he tempts an intently-waiting Belle with treats. Potts is joined by local SPCA president Jenn Rowley in a storage shed on the adoption centre site, where the volunteers go through a daily routine it's hoped will eventually rehabilitate the dog.

The Bow Valley SPCA became the first no-kill, no-cage facility in Canada when it opened its adoption centre in June 2007. This week, it announced the Cinderella Fund, which addresses the additional costs associated with special needs animals like Belle, allowing donors to support the philosophy itself, or a specific animal.

Belle, who is believed to be three or four years old, was brought into the shelter after she was found wandering in Banff last summer. She was adopted out once, only to be returned. On her second adoption, she attacked another dog in her new owner's house and was returned again. When a third prospective owner brought his dog to the shelter, Belle attacked the smaller animal, this time breaking the skin.

If Belle attacks again, she is at risk of being euthanized. For now, she remains in isolation at the shelter, has no contact with other animals and is leashed and muzzled every time she leaves her room. It's a big effort for a volunteer organization, but one the local SPCA has committed to in its mandate.

"She is an example of the no-kill philosophy we have here because she is unadoptable," adoption centre manager Sonya White says. "The board made the decision that her life was worth saving, so she lives here."

So far, Belle has cost the centre nearly $900 in surgeries to remove an infected toe and lumps from her body. In its first year of operation, Potts estimates the SPCA has spent at least $3,000 on special-needs animals and he speculates that the number will continue to grow as the shelter's reputation for accepting animals that would otherwise be put down continues to grow.

Volunteer time is also in demand for rehabilitating animals like Belle, who require extra attention. In the storage shed, praises of "good girl!" punctuate the half-hour session as Belle becomes increasingly focused on the task at hand. While she's tethered and leashed, Potts instructs Belle to sit, rewarding her with treats when she obeys. Slowly, he ups the ante, walking away, turning circles around her, and throwing rocks - decoy treats - over her head in an effort to teach her to focus on him, not the distractions.

It's hoped that with time Belle's staying power will hold when confronted by even greater distractions, like other animals.

Eight SPCA volunteers trained by Banff animal behaviourist Annette Young each work with Belle for a half hour every week. Potts admits the training would move along faster with just one trainer, but the benefit of multiple volunteers is that Belle will learn to respond to commands given by anyone, including a potential new owner.

"This way she's going to learn slower, but... good girl!" Potts interrupts himself as Belle successfully remains seated in the face of tempting treats. Once she gets the hang of sitting and holding indoors without any distractions, the volunteers will begin to incorporate other distractions: first moving her training outdoors, then introducing dogs at a long distance, and eventually moving other animals closer.

"She's unpredictable about her aggression to dogs, so we have to get her under control no matter what is going on with another dog," Potts says. "Clearly she has impulse control issues with other dogs, so what we're tying to do is get her impulses under control with a cue."

It's hoped that one day Belle will be rehabilitated to the point that she will be adopted by someone willing to continue working with her and pay special attention to her aggression issues. For the time being, she will remain at the centre, where she gets six to eight walks a day and lots of the human attention she craves.

"Even if she winds up not finding a home she's going to have a good life," Potts says. "Which is why this place was built - so animals in our care would have a quality of life."

For more information about the Cinderella Fund or to donate to it, visit the Bow Valley SPCA website at www.bowvalleyspca.org