Purpose

PG Animal Rescue exists for the purpose of rehabilitating and relocating abused and unwanted animals into approved homes; providing humane standard level of care to each animal in our home based facility; and, providing educational programs to the public, enabling them to increase their knowledge of care of domestic animals.

Goals

We are all about rescuing and rehabilitating animals in a humane manner for the benefit of the lives of both the animals and the families they become a part of.

At PG Animal Rescue, we offer a different rescue environment. By rescuing and rehabilitating animals in a home-based, open concept environment, we find the animals in our care transition easier and are rehabilitated quicker. Families looking to adopt an animal are also able to see how that animal behaves in a less stressed environment.

History

Back in 2003, I found myself in need of another used saddle. I learned of a tack auction that was going to happen in Quesnel (a town approximately an hour south from Prince George). After the tack portion of the sale was over they began to bring horses through. I had never been to a tack/horse auction before and was quite naive to the whole thing. I noticed that a lot of the horses were going to a couple of the same people. I asked someone from the crowd that I was sitting beside why those people were buying so many horses. They quickly informed me that they were the "meat buyers." The meat buyers purchase the horses and then either resell them for a profit to other people or sell them in order to be processed for meat, etc. (it is a more detailed process but I will leave that for other groups to explain for now). I was completely appalled by this!!! I started to get more and more upset as I watched all of these beautiful horses being bought up by the meat buyers. A young Arabian mare came prancing through, her head and tail almost defiantly high up in the air. There was only one person bidding. By this time I was damn angry! I was determined she would not be going for meat! Looking back, I'm sure I would have mortgaged my home to prevent such an untimely demise for this beautiful filly. Luckily for me, by the time  the bidding was over I was only a couple hundred dollars poorer than when I came. After only a few months I had "Shyanne" healthy and ready to start under saddle. Little did I know that this was only the beginning.

 I couldn't get the images of those terrified auction horses out of my mind. The sound of them fighting with each other in the overcrowded holding pens resonated. I found myself at another "meat sale" and came home with two, then three at the next auction, then as many as my trailer could fit. Soon word got out that there was this lady in Prince George that would take  in unwanted horses. The horses started finding their way to me. I quickly came to realize the lack of alternatives for unwanted horses in the North. I decided to start advertising and become an official rescue. It was as if I had opened the flood gates!  Known then as Prince George Equine Rescue, it took on a life of its own. The response was incredible, the support from the community was wonderful! I quickly established a good relationship with our local SPCA and had them come out to inspect our facility. To this day, we continue to assist the SPCA with livestock seizures and rehabilitation.

Over 400 horse rescues later, we find ourselves expanded to a fabulous 160 acre property in Pineview. The rescue's name was changed to Prince George Equine and Animal Rescue Society to incorporate our expansion into small animal rescue. Most recently, we have updated our name to Prince George Animal Rescue, truly reflecting all that we do. We are set a distance off the road with two creeks, a pond, trails and fields. Not only has it become a great place to rehabilitate horses and other livestock, it is a paradise for dogs and cats as well.  Since 2013, we have also rescued, rehabilitated, and re-homed over 300 dogs and over 500 cats. We are more of an open concept shelter. If behaviours allow, the dogs are outside with us during the day and inside with us at night. They are a part of the family until we find them their perfect home.

~ Nicola Redpath, Owner

Tours

Some people may just be interested in viewing our facility, the animals and seeing what it is we do out here. We are happy to provide you or a group with a tour. We will also tour elementary schools.

News

Unfortunately with the ongoing pandemic, we have yet to be able to set a date where we can resume our regular volunteer programs. At the moment we are hoping for February 2022 and will post the exact date soon.