PWGSC has an intranet site called ‘IN THE KNOW’ and in it features all sorts of tidbits of information from IT desktop notices to Deputy Minister Communiqués etc. Employees of PWGSC are informed about the weekly ‘in the know’ by an email spotlighting the weeks articles.
The publication that reaches 14,000 across Canada has a “Volunteers Who Shine” section. S. Desjardins contacted Corporate communications and self identified as a Volunteer for BHRR and included the BHRR web link and a Pic of Jenni and Mudslide. They were being featured in May 11th’s Volunteer Article!
Copy of the article below.
Suzanne Desjardins, a senior compensation systems analyst here at PWGSC, has spent the past two years volunteering with Birch Haven Rescue and Rehabilitation Services, an organization that rehabilitates large dogs and horses that have been abused and abandoned.
Birch Haven, which relies solely on donations, rescues large dogs and horses that would normally be deemed unadoptable, and finds them new and loving owners.
Suzanne first discovered Birch Haven on the Internet when she was looking to adopt a Great Dane. She is now the proud parent of two rehabilitated Great Danes-Jenni and Mudslide-that were born prematurely to a mother rescued from a puppy mill. Since then, Suzanne has been volunteering with Birch Haven whenever she can.
“Feeding Great Danes is a big task,” says Suzanne. “It costs about $2,000 a year to feed{& properly care for} one, and Birch Haven has about 20 at any given time!”
She visits local pet stores seeking spare dog food and organizes ‘Great Dane hikes.’ Last summer, Suzanne went to Birch Haven’s 148-acre site near Oxford Station, Ontario, and helped build a fenced-in dog run, clearing brush and lugging around fence posts.
“Volunteering is a way for me to give life to dogs that might otherwise die a cruel, sad death,” she says. “It’s a way to give back to the dogs that have touched me so deeply.”
On May 16 she’ll be volunteering at a special screening of Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakquel! at the Mayfair Theatre in Ottawa. Owners are encouraged to bring their dogs. All proceeds will be used to help pay the medical bills for Ava, a two-year-old Great Dane that needs surgery.
“The most important thing I can tell prospective dog owners is to read up about the breed they’re interested in,” says Suzanne. “Many of the dogs at Birch Haven are there because people don’t realize how much work goes into taking care of large-breed dogs.”
Visit the Birch Haven Web site to find out how you can help.
Suzanne’s dogs, Jenni and Mudslide
