Indigenous volunteers are helping care for ‘rez dog’ relatives — with little funding

Indigenous volunteers are helping care for ‘rez dog’ relatives — with little funding Growing packs of stray dogs expose infrastructure gaps on reserves. But advocates say what’s needed are ‘sovereign solutions,’ not saviours BY CRYSTAL GREENE, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER ● FEATURES, WINNIPEG ● SEPTEMBER 19, 2026 Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Share on Reddit Share on WhatsApp Email this Page June Thomas, with Ginew Animal Care Services on Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation, holds a puppy on her reserve in southern Manitoba. Photo courtesy Ginew Animal Care Services/Facebook As an animal lover, June Thomas grew increasingly concerned about the many stray dogs and cats roaming her community’s reserve in southern Manitoba — and decided to do something about them.  What started as a home operation to better care for the animals in 2017, which she called “June’s Adoptables,” has since grown into a full animal shelter on Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation (RRAFN), nearly 100 kilometres south of Winnipeg.  Thomas believes the shelter, which opened in February, is the first one on-reserve in the province. “I started off in my own house rescuing animals like dogs and cats,” Thomas told IndigiNews.  She was inspired to take action after her beloved dog Bessie became sick and died from canine parvovirus, a highly contagious disease commonly known as parvo.  Eventually, June’s Adoptables outgrew Thomas’s house — and she became incorporated as Ginew Animal Care Services. “I took a veterinary assistant program,” said Thomas, who graduated in 2024 from Robertson College and is now certified to give vaccinations.  “It gave me the skills and helped me want to set up a shelter.” On reserves, “rez dogs” are beloved mixed-breed strays who roam communities without a single owner.  However, rez dogs and other strays can carry diseases and become overpopulated because they lack veterinary care.  And sometimes, they can create safety concerns if stray dogs become aggressive towards people — even in some cases fatally. A volunteer holds a puppy on Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation. Photo courtesy Ginew Animal Care Services/Facebook After tragedy, calls for action In July, Thomas joined other Manitoba pet rescue advocates at the provincial legislature to honour Amanda Nobiss, a 37-year-old Métis volunteer with the Indigenous-founded group K9 Advocacy Manitoba. Nobiss died after being mauled by a dog in Sandy Bay Ojibway First…