As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, and with a move to Gabriola Island just days away, Vicki McDonald’s 15-year involvement with Creston’s Pet Adoption and Welfare Society (PAWS) is nearly over.
Of course, anyone who knows the PAWS past-president knows that a move to the Coast to be closer to her children won’t be an end to her volunteering.
“It seems to find me,” she said. “I have a friend who has already lined stuff up on Gabriola.”
Born in Creston, McDonald has spent most of her life in Creston, with the exception of her first six years, when her father travelled in the Air Force, and some time at the University of Lethbridge.
Her previous volunteer work went hand-in-hand with her children’s education and activities, and she served as treasurer for the Creston Valley Minor Hockey Association, and worked with parent advisory councils and the high school band.
She got involved with PAWS after her husband, Jim, who died in 2011, found two dogs while hauling equipment in the bush in 1997. The dogs were fearful, something McDonald had no experience with, so she took them to obedience training with the late Claudia Grimstead, a founder of PAWS.
“I took them to Claudia and the next thing I knew, I was in PAWS,” McDonald said. “Once I started, it was almost like an addiction. I love animals, especially dogs. I’ve learned so much being part of this. It’s just an amazing thing to do.”
She eventually became treasurer and then vice-president, before an 11-year stint as president following Grimstead’s death in a 2001 car accident. At the time, the five-year-old organization’s desire to build an animal shelter was growing.
“But rather than giving up Claudia’s dream,” said McDonald in her final president’s report at the March 21 annual general meeting, “her death spurred on not only PAWS members but many friends and community members, as well, to work even harder to help animals, and to fundraise to realize that dream.”
A short time later, PAWS was able to establish a small office next to Columbia Bottle Recycle, after years of “not knowing where we were going to hold meetings.”
And in June 2002, about a dozen members began the huge task of caring for 56 dogs found near Topaz Creek on Highway 3. Their nationally-recognized effort led to a large private sector grant that allowed the 2004 purchase of property on Lower Wynndel Road.
In 2010, the group took a step further when its new shelter, Claudia’s Place, opened, providing a permanent location for PAWS, which helped the group’s volunteer roster grow from five in the early days to over 50.
“Having a physical presence where people can see what we have and what we’re doing made a huge difference to draw people in,” said McDonald.
The shelter wasn’t the end, though; the PAWS five-year plan includes an area for livestock and large animals, an off-leash park and a memorial garden for pet remains. The organization also plans to work more closely with emergency social services to evacuate animals in danger.
McDonald has seen animals in danger firsthand, having visited New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina left hundreds of pets without owners. One of her two dogs is a Katrina rescue, and the other came from PAWS.
“The most important thing I’ve learned is the incredible amount of trust and forgiveness that animals possess,” she said. “If people could be like them ... man, it would be a pretty good place.”
Although McDonald’s former role as president made her the de facto face of the organization — it’s hard to imagine one without the other — she’s confident that the group she’s devoted 15 years to will thrive in her absence.
“If I was in the least bit concerned about leaving PAWS in their hands, I’d maybe be having second thoughts about leaving,” she said. “The best kind of people are the people here. They here because they care and love animals, and to me, those are the best kind of people.”