The NWT SPCA had something to look forward to this week and it was perfect timing with National Pet Day, which occurred on April 11.

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon outside their shelter came a truck packed with four students from St. Patrick鈥檚 High School.

John White was the man behind the wheel and the teacher of those four students. He explained they were at the shelter donating animal houses his students had been building for the past couple of weeks.

鈥淭his was a project in our leadership and resiliency program at St. Pat鈥檚,鈥� White explained. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a class for Indigenous students to teach them valuable skills and how to become leaders in our communities.鈥�

Part of that program includes community service, White said, and his students decided as a group they wanted to help pets.

鈥淲e though it鈥檇 be a good idea, as a class, to learn some construction skills and teamwork skills, and be able to donate our finished project,鈥� he said.

For White, he said it鈥檚 been great seeing his students band together for a good cause.

Despite the learning curve, none of them quit.

鈥淎 lot of laughter and a lot of perseverance,鈥� he noted.

Jaylyn Gaudet and Liyah Yakeleya-Grymaloski, both in Grade 9, were two of the students helped build these houses. For Gaudet, she stressed it was no easy task.

鈥淚t was hard, really hard,鈥� she laughed, noting that drilling was a sure challenge.

Yakeleya-Grymaloski has been in the shelter before and said the animals were cute. When asked how they feel about their accomplishment, the answer was simple: happy.

鈥淗appy they have a house to be in,鈥� said Gaudet.

Samantha Laviolette, who works at the SPCA, said being a responsible pet owner is as personal as it is important.

鈥淚, like most people, just was like 鈥極h yeah, I want a dog鈥�,鈥� she explained. 鈥淗e ended up being super reactive. I had to pivot and learn a lot about dogs to meet his needs.鈥�

That was back in 2018, when she adopted her pet also from the SPCA. Since then, she said she鈥檚 gained tons of experience working with dogs and what it means to be a responsible pet owner. For her, it comes down to communication.

鈥淭o be a responsible dog owner, especially, we need to understand what our dogs are trying to communicate to us,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey are brought into our world, but don鈥檛 necessarily want to play by our rules.鈥�

Laviolette also mentioned her job can be pretty emotional, but there is a payoff to the work she does.

鈥淚t鈥檚 always nice when people, months or years down line, reach out and let us know what their dogs they鈥檝e adopted form us are doing,鈥� Laviolette said, adding that she鈥檚 seen her fair share of Facebook posts that celebrate the pets adopted from the SPCA.

鈥淛ust thinking about where they started and what situations they came from and watching them adventure across Canada and do these things is really heartwarming.鈥�