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North Star Air takes part in pet food airlift

Air carrier brings relief to remote community dog overpopulation problem

North Star Air is flying more than 28,000 pounds of pet food into Northern remote communities this month.

The Thunder Bay-based air carrier teamed up with the Ontario SPCA, CN Rail and Rolf C. Hagen Inc., a Montreal pet supply company, to tackle a serious animal welfare problem in Canada, dog overpopulation in the Far North.

The 29 pallets of cat and dog food were shipped by CN rail from the GTA to Winnipeg where the food was then trucked to North Star’s Pickle Lake base on May 4, about 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.

The shipment is in the process of being distributed by plane to the various destinations that North Star Air serves.

The dog and cat food was donated by Rolf C. Hagen and is one of the largest in-kind donations in the history of the Ontario SPCA.

This year is the SPCA's Year of the Northern Dog initiative, a program aimed at bringing awareness and taking action on the dog overpopulation problem in Northern communities.

“In remote Northern communities, resources and access to animal welfare services are often limited and getting supplies to many of these communities comes with obstacles, as many are accessed by air only,” said Judi Cannon, director of partnerships and community outreach for the Ontario SPCA, in a May 17 news release.

“We are thrilled to be able to share this food with pet owners in the North and would like to thank Rolf C. Hagen Inc. for generously supplying the food, as well as CN Rail and North Star Air Ltd. and the Feeding Program for Northern Dogs for making this initiative possible.”

“Part of what we do at CN is support our neighbours and the communities where we operate,” said Daniel Salvatore, CN’s public affairs manager for Ontario. “Railroaders have big hearts and are good at getting things done, this project was no exception. CN employees involved in transporting the donated goods by truck and train on our network from Mississauga, Brampton, Winnipeg, and Thunder Bay were proud to be of assistance.”

"Hagen has continually contributed to and supported many animal welfare organizations over the years; but always with a strong focus in Canada, where the company was founded, and is still currently headquartered,” says Katherine Bosina, manager of dog and cat consumables with Rolf C. Hagen Inc.