One evening, Didier Chamberland, president of the Beauregard refuge in Saint-Éloi, noticed a dog, a Malinois boxer mix, following people in the street. But it doesn’t seem to belong to anyone.
He then takes it to identify it and finds traces of its last known master, who had to part with it for family reasons. He entrusted it to someone else via Leboncoin. But it seems to have been abandoned again. His name is Sun, he has three years. He will therefore join the forty dogs in the shelter and the 70 to 80 cats, also abandoned following deaths, divorces, people who did not know how or could not take care of them.
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Before giving them up for adoption, the shelter ensures that the living conditions of the new masters can correspond to the dog, to avoid any further abandonment. “Out of 100 people who come to see us, there are about twenty who are actually capable of adopting the dog they have chosen”, estimates Didier Chamberland.
15 dogs from the shelter “loaned” for the event
In the meantime, the refuge, partner of La Croquette, has decided to “lend” fifteen of its most sociable dogs to participate in the first cani-rando of Saint-Éloi.
For athletes who did not have a dog. The goal ? Raising awareness of the animal cause and putting the spotlight on the shelter.
A participant who did not have a dog came to the shelter, fifteen days before the event, to see which one could correspond to him for the test.
He deserves to find a good family, to be happy, and I hope I can give him that.
“When I entered, I knew that I risked cracking up,” he admits. “And it was. I was introduced Sun, who was the fastest running dog. He was young, handsome… It was love at first sight. I told myself that it would be a good companion for life and sport, as I am quite athletic. He deserves to find a good family, to be happy, and I hope to be able to offer him that”.
The dog-handler duo met several times, and the shelter agreed to the adoption. The two accomplices left on the cani-rando together, at the head of the procession. At the finish, they were among the top five. And for the first time, they both went home.
Among the fourteen other dogs to have participated, many were also reserved or even adopted thanks to the event.
What is Croquette?
Sunday, October 2, more than 350 masters and dogs took the start, over 5 km, the cani-rando first, then the cani-cross then. The event, a first, organized by the French Run association, at the request of the City, aims to highlight the biodiversity of the town and the refuge of Beauregard. This collected 100% of the amount of registrations, thanks to the participation of several partners. That is more than €1,800, not counting donations. 40 volunteers were hard at work.
All participating dogs had to be identified, vaccinated and in good health.
Two veterinarians, Nathan Swolfs and Alexis Deprez made sure before the start.
They were about five participants to be rejected for lack of paper. The dogs were of all ages, but the most represented breeds were Australian Shepherds and Border Collies. To avoid any altercation, the participants left in lines of five people, spaced 3 meters apart.
The difference compared to a solo race? You have to adapt to the animal. At the beginning, it is he who runs the fastest, then at the end, it is rather me.
Emmanuelle Alexandre, 26, embarked on her first cani-cross with Chubby, a 9-year-old Labrador. She is already used to running and has sometimes trained with her dog. “The difference compared to a solo race? You have to adapt to the animal. At the beginning, it is he who runs the fastest, then at the end, it is rather me, ”she smiles. “But time flies faster when I run with him, so why not start again? »
Work at the Beauregard refuge in Saint-Eloi for the well-being of staff, dogs and cats
Isabelle, treasurer of the Beauregard refuge, adopted Nina last year. “It was her face that I liked, and she is affectionate, kind. I took her in when she was abandoned. His mistress had to be hospitalized. They took the start of the cani-rando together. “The course is great, it’s green, bucolic, flat, everyone can participate from 7 to 77 years old. And there are water supplies for the dogs, which is nice”.
Marlene Martin
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