In 2017, June Thomas began rescuing stray “rez dogs” from her own home on Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation in southern Manitoba, driven by concern for the many unvaccinated, unsterilised animals roaming the reserve.
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Thomas → begin → reserve
After surveying 200 homes, helping sterilise more than 65 dogs and cats and coordinating several on-reserve clinics, she has now opened what she believes is Manitoba’s first on-reserve animal shelter.
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she → survey → reserve
The facility, run under her organisation Ginew Animal Care Services, aims to provide a sustainable, community-led solution to overpopulation and disease while reducing the need to transport pets off-reserve for basic care, according to IndigiNews.
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facility → run → IndigiNews
From a personal loss to a community mission
June Thomas’s journey began with grief.
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journey → begin → grief
Her beloved dog Bessie fell ill and died from canine parvovirus, a highly contagious and often fatal disease that spreads quickly among unvaccinated dogs.
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that → fall → dogs
Watching Bessie suffer made Thomas realise how vulnerable animals were in her community, where access to routine veterinary care, vaccinations and spay-and-neuter services was limited.
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access → watch → care
What started as a small home-based effort she called “June’s Adoptables” gradually grew as more dogs and cats needed help.
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dogs → start → help
Over time, the operation outgrew her house.
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operation → outgrow → house
Thomas enrolled in a veterinary assistant program, graduating in 2024 from Robertson College and becoming certified to administer vaccinations.
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Thomas → enrol → vaccinations
That training gave her the confidence and skills to formalise her work.
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training → give → work
She incorporated as Ginew Animal Care Services and began planning a dedicated shelter on Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation, about 100 kilometres south of Winnipeg.
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She → incorporate → Winnipeg
In February 2026, the shelter opened its doors, marking a major milestone in her nearly decade-long effort.
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shelter → open → effort
Understanding “rez dogs” and the challenges they face
On many First Nations reserves, “rez dogs” are mixed-breed strays that roam freely without a single owner.
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that → understand → owner
They are often treated as community animals, fed by different households and allowed to move between properties.
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They → treat → properties
For many residents, these dogs are seen as relatives rather than pets in the conventional sense.
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dogs → see → sense
Yet this informal system can create problems when animals are not vaccinated, sterilised or monitored for illness.
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animals → create → illness
Uncontrolled breeding leads to rapid population growth.
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breeding → lead → growth
Puppies are born faster than homes can be found for them.
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homes → bear → them
Diseases like parvo can spread through packs, especially among young dogs with weak immune systems.
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Diseases → spread → systems
In some cases, large groups of stray dogs can become a safety concern, particularly if they form packs and behave aggressively toward people.
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they → become → people
Advocates stress that these issues are not a sign that community members do not care about animals, but rather a reflection of limited infrastructure and veterinary resources on reserves.
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members → stress → reserves
Door-to-door surveys and sterilisation clinics
Thomas took a methodical approach to addressing overpopulation.
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Thomas → take → overpopulation
With support from band council, she helped develop an animal bylaw and management plan for Roseau River in 2021.
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she → develop → 2021
Once the plan was ratified, she went door to door, surveying roughly 200 homes to ask whether residents had dogs or cats, whether they wanted to register them and whether the animals had been vaccinated or sterilised.
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animals → ratify → them
This groundwork gave her a clear picture of how many animals needed care and where the biggest gaps were, as per the report.
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gaps → give → report
At first, she met resistance.
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she → meet → resistance
Many people did not understand why spaying and neutering mattered, or why vaccinations were important.
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vaccinations → understand → ?
Some were unsure where to take sick animals or how much care would cost.
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care → take → animals
Thomas responded by organising on-reserve spay-and-neuter clinics, removing the barrier of having to travel to veterinarians outside the community.
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Thomas → respond → community
The first clinic cost more than $15,000, with six different community programs chipping in to cover the bill.
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programs → cost → bill
Those clinics made a tangible difference.
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clinics → make → difference
More than 65 dogs and cats were sterilised, and 32 animals were rescued from the reserve.
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animals → sterilise → reserve
Attendance at later clinics showed the impact.
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Attendance → show → impact
A spay-and-neuter event on July 1 drew about 30 sign-ups.
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event → spay → ups
Just two weeks later, Thomas struggled to find 10 or 15 animals that still needed the procedure, not because interest had faded but because many pets were already up to date on shots and sterilised.
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pets → struggle → shots
Revisiting her original survey data, Thomas saw the overall dog and cat population drop from 214 registered animals to an estimated 117, thanks to sterilisation, surrenders and rescues.
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population → revisit → sterilisation
She also noted that parvo had not been seen in the community for about a year, which she credits to public education and regular clinics.
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she → note → education
Building the shelter with band revenues
The new shelter represents the next phase of Thomas’s vision.
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shelter → build → vision
Roseau River’s chief and council funded the construction using revenues from land leases and tobacco sales tax, according to Thomas.
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chief → fund → Thomas
The facility includes space for housing animals, areas for cleaning and feeding, and plans for a dedicated water system.
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facility → include → system
…and 26 more, not listed.
The Aporia
