
The Pack Project Inc. is a newly launched advocacy group which was formed by veterans of the animal rescue world, our team of 5 Directors, namely: Amy Vitkay, Brenda Louvel, Wynter Philip, Karen Beekman and Ashley Mouly.
Focusing mainly on dogs, The Pack Project supports rescues of all kinds across Canada.
This reporter was invited to join the group by Amy Vitkay, formerly of Bright Eyes Dog Rescue. Amy and I connected in 2013 when I wrote an article entitled Faith, Kizmet and The Lucky Bunch for DREAM, an advocacy group run out of Winnipeg, MB.
After accepting the offer to join the Project, I became quickly aware of just how much the group was accomplishing and felt very impressed by the donations collected and support provided to various rescues. From bags of food to crates to towels, the Project was in full swing supporting rescues in need of rescue.
My first interactive experience of the power of The PPI was during one of my regular FaceBook crawls on August 4th at approximately 4pm when I happened across a Norway House Animal Rescue in my newsfeed. Scarily, the post was bannered by an alert to readers:
WARNING** Graphic Injury.
Female in heat, emaciated with a clean break on her leg with the bone protruding out.
We are needing help with Funds to Fly her out immediately.
We were notified by concerned people to help her.
We are lucky to have Metacam and antibiotics up there to start her on thanks to Dr. Sra and Best Friends Animal Hospital. In situations like this where we cannot get a flight soon enough
(hers is Tuesday afternoon) working with the Vets is critical for her comfort and care.
Focusing mainly on dogs, The Pack Project supports rescues of all kinds across Canada.
This reporter was invited to join the group by Amy Vitkay, formerly of Bright Eyes Dog Rescue. Amy and I connected in 2013 when I wrote an article entitled Faith, Kizmet and The Lucky Bunch for DREAM, an advocacy group run out of Winnipeg, MB.
After accepting the offer to join the Project, I became quickly aware of just how much the group was accomplishing and felt very impressed by the donations collected and support provided to various rescues. From bags of food to crates to towels, the Project was in full swing supporting rescues in need of rescue.
My first interactive experience of the power of The PPI was during one of my regular FaceBook crawls on August 4th at approximately 4pm when I happened across a Norway House Animal Rescue in my newsfeed. Scarily, the post was bannered by an alert to readers:
WARNING** Graphic Injury.
Female in heat, emaciated with a clean break on her leg with the bone protruding out.
We are needing help with Funds to Fly her out immediately.
We were notified by concerned people to help her.
We are lucky to have Metacam and antibiotics up there to start her on thanks to Dr. Sra and Best Friends Animal Hospital. In situations like this where we cannot get a flight soon enough
(hers is Tuesday afternoon) working with the Vets is critical for her comfort and care.

My first thought was, OK, this girl needs some help right now. I shared the post in the The PPI’s internal group page and asked for suggestions to get some aid in action for the dog in dire need of rescue and medical attention. Within minutes Amy had cross posted to The PPI public Facebook page:
“The pack project is dedicated to helping pets get to safety by helping with transport. A pregnant female dog with a broken leg (exposed bone) is desperately seeking refuge. A flight for her to safety and care is $150” Donations toward her transport costs through our PayPal account are greatly appreciated!"
“The pack project is dedicated to helping pets get to safety by helping with transport. A pregnant female dog with a broken leg (exposed bone) is desperately seeking refuge. A flight for her to safety and care is $150” Donations toward her transport costs through our PayPal account are greatly appreciated!"

Literally within hours of the ask, the full amount of airfare had been donated. There was such an outpouring of generosity that The PPI was able to post the following update on August 7:
Thanks to your amazing support we were able to send enough money to get this beauty, Sierra, with her badly broken leg flown to a safe place to be fostered. We also received enough donations to help fly out a whole litter of puppies! This is amazing news and these dogs are all on the road to happy, healthy lives. From the bottom of our hearts we thank you!!
The PPI pours monumental effort and energy into providing whatever assistance is necessary to its partner rescues out of love and caring. If you have a moment to check out The PPI on Facebook, you will see exactly how much the Pack has done in a short period of time. But just in case you haven’t had time to like our page on Facebook, (you might want to get that going ok?!) here are some warm and fuzzy moments from The PPI’s donations received and distributed:
This heartfelt thank you was posted by Helen Pompana, and is so appreciated by the entire Pack!!!
Thank you for the thank you Helen!!
Thanks to your amazing support we were able to send enough money to get this beauty, Sierra, with her badly broken leg flown to a safe place to be fostered. We also received enough donations to help fly out a whole litter of puppies! This is amazing news and these dogs are all on the road to happy, healthy lives. From the bottom of our hearts we thank you!!
The PPI pours monumental effort and energy into providing whatever assistance is necessary to its partner rescues out of love and caring. If you have a moment to check out The PPI on Facebook, you will see exactly how much the Pack has done in a short period of time. But just in case you haven’t had time to like our page on Facebook, (you might want to get that going ok?!) here are some warm and fuzzy moments from The PPI’s donations received and distributed:
This heartfelt thank you was posted by Helen Pompana, and is so appreciated by the entire Pack!!!
Thank you for the thank you Helen!!

A huge THANK YOU to Prairie Sky Dog Rescue for their amazing donation of food for our outreach program! Working with wonderful groups like this, is what we are all about.

This beautiful pup named Thunder, was rescued from Ontario, about to be euthanized. The Pack Project donated his transport costs from Regina to BC. He is on his way to be fostered and adopted!
(P.s.-that foxy blonde is no other than Amy Vitkay - one of the founders/directors)

A big thank you to Joanne of The Pack Project for delivering much needed supplies to Hillside Canine Foster's Doggy Doula and Strays that Can't Pay!
![]() A big Thank You to Zoom Zoom Groom for their generous donation of 60 towels. These come in very handy when whelping puppies. The towels as well as other supplies will be going to Hillside Canine Foster's Doggy Doula in Winnipeg. | We are proud to introduce Jordyn, the adorable little girl we met last night who donated $75.35 to The Pack Project. She raised the cash by holding lemonade stands and saving up her birthday money. What an amazing young lady! Thank you Jordyn! |
With Pack members spanning across Western Canada and connections reaching across North America, there is no doubt that the Power of the Pack is destined to be a rescue force to be reckoned with. It takes a little bit of crazy, a great big heart, and the will to keep moving forward no matter what gets in the way. Knowing that there are just over 60 (and growing in numbers daily!) other crazy big hearted stubborn Pack members sharing strength, experience and connections is the beauty part of The PPI. Having a big strong pack enables the group to find solutions quickly and efficiently. This means that rescue ops can be put into effect that much faster, saving more lives, feeding more starving dogs, provide more transport, temporary foster, support, monetary donations. No amount or gesture is too small, click here find out how you can help Power the Pack!!