DAWSON CREEK, March 3, 2022 – It’s been a labour of love for NLC fourth year carpentry students as they used their construction skills to build a variety of doghouses this semester.
The project began when Claire Corcoran, a BC SPCA special provincial constable based in Dawson Creek, started noticing in her investigations that a lot of dogs didn’t have access to an outdoor shelter.
“In some circumstances, the dogs are in distress and there is a need for an investigation,” she said. “However, since the price of lumber increased, I have observed people in need, within our community, who love their animals and are challenged in finding affordable shelters.”
So she reached out to NLC to see if assistance could be provided to both the dogs and their families. As part of the Level 4 Carpentry curriculum, the students must use skills they acquired in their previous three years to build a variety of roofing styles, so they incorporated that into the doghouses.
Materials were purchased thanks to a generous $2,000 grant from Dawson Co-op’s community support fund.
“The Dawson Co-op is very proud to have been a part of such a fantastic local initiative,” said Robyn Larden on the Dawson Co-op. “Thank you very much to the Northern Lights College carpentry students for all their hard work on this amazing project. It is initiatives like these that build sustainable communities for all.”
Leo Manning, Dean of Trades and Apprenticeships for NLC, was grateful to Dawson Co-op that the project came together as it did, and to Claire for bringing it to his attention.
“I am so very excited and proud that we at NLC, in conjunction with the Co-op and SPCA, could bring such a great project together and serve our community. Support families in the region in need, with such a fundamental thing as a doghouse to keep families united with their pets.
The doghouses will be distributed by Claire while doing animal welfare checks in the area. If she checks on an animal and finds it is well cared for and just in need of an outdoor shelter, she will provide the family with one of the doghouses.
“This will be a way we can help dogs stay in their homes with their families,” she said.
