Sailors planning bright future for dog rescue centre

Former Su Casa rescue dog Boots looks up from the front door of a playhouse built for him by his owner in his new adopted home.

Peter Mallett, Staff Writer ~

A Canadian Armed Forces member who spends her spare time caring for abandoned dogs at her Shawnigan Lake home has been told she has to move.

The homeowner is putting the house up for sale and Petty Officer First Class (PO1) Alana Power and her dogs have to be out by March 31.

The sailor has helped rehabilitate approximately 200 dogs since she started her non-profit Su Casa Rescue in 2013.

“My life revolves around the dogs and it doesn’t stop with this move, so this has been hugely disruptive for not only my personal life but the shelter too,” she says.

The good news is she’s on the hunt for a house of her own. But she doesn’t have the funds to build a shelter on the property. So she’s turning to the community to help re-build Su Casa Rescue.

“I immediately knew I needed help and couldn’t build a shelter myself,” said PO1 Power.

In February PO1 Power started a Go Fund Me Campaign and increased posts on her SuCasa Facebook page to drum up the much-needed support.

She has plans to build individual living quarters for each animal – “doggie-sized condo” with a window and sleeping area.

The support from both the military community and general public has been overwhelming. By early March $7,000 of her $50,000 goal had been met. Two people, one anonymous and one from HMCS Regina, each donated $1,000 and this brought her to tears.

“I cried because it made me feel that people value what Su Casa Rescue is doing,” said PO1 Power.

It’s not just cash donations she is seeking, but building material donations and pet supplies.

She became interested in the plight of abandoned dogs in San Bernardino, Calif., after reading a friend’s Facebook post about it.  PO1 Power says she has helped save the lives of approximately 200 dogs from city pounds in the California area during four years of operating her rescue.

“Many of the dogs I adopt are from high-kill civic dog pounds in California and are slated to be euthanized. My main objective is to save their lives, take care of the dogs, and get them into new homes with responsible owners.”

She works tirelessly to care for the animals and find them new homes, all while operating on a shoestring budget. She collects bottles from friends and relies entirely on other charitable donations to keep her operation running.

Anyone interested in help Su Casa Rescue can go to https://www.gofundme.com/su-casa-rescue-must-move. To learn more about the shelter go to https://www.facebook.com/sucasaresuce