Valley Calderoni can’t believe how many Squamish residents and businesses have reached out to her since her animal shelter and training yards were flooded two weeks ago.
“I am extremely moved and appreciative of the incredible community we have. I have never in my experience, experienced this unity – people coming together to help us out,” she said. “So much generosity and so much love.”
Calderoni’s Canine Valley Re-education and Adventure Centre Society (CVRAC) was damaged beyond repair when heavy late November rains flooded the shelter and the grounds where Calderoni and her staff housed rescue animals, trained dogs and offered dog-owner education.
At the time, Calderoni feared the doors would have to be closed on the shelter and the six rescue dogs and five cats in its care would be euthanized.
Since then, close to $2,000 in cash donations has been collected and it has gone a long way in helping keep the animals fed.
“It really has helped a lot with the basic needs of the shelter,” she said.
The six rescue dogs are still living with Calderoni in her home, and many people are helping to walk the dogs on a daily basis.
“They have been getting a lot activity so they are pretty tired and so they are behaving very well,” she said, adding volunteers including a student from Quest University have come by to take the rescue dogs for walks every day, rain or shine.
All but one of the cats has been moved to a temporary makeshift shelter in the yard fashioned out of shipping containers. One cat is nervous from all the changes and so is being kept in Calderoni’s bathroom, she said.
The plan is to trench the yard, cover it and then build a new and improved shelter.
To help with the flooded training yard, Howe Sound Equipment Rentals lent the centre an excavator, and Squamish resident John Payne spent about eight hours a day for days excavating for free.
“He is amazing. Not only did he do that, but he is connected to every single industry within Squamish to have to do with construction so he got us materials,” Calderoni said.
Fellow Squamish resident Ken McCrady is assisting Payne.
Home Depot donated pipe to be laid in trenches to take the floodwater away from the yards.
Local company Cardinal Concrete donated gravel for the trenches, and Coast Valley Contracting donated the trucks to deliver the gravel.
It hasn’t only been locals who stepped up. An American shipping company, Cherokee West Enterprises, gave her $600 off shipping containers, now being used to shelter the cats.
With all the good that has happened since the flood, there have been further challenges as well.
A gas line was discovered in the yard, which has meant work on the trenches had to be temporarily stopped.
“We are hoping that within the next week we are going to find an appropriate solution for that. This pipe seems to be all around our property so that doesn’t allow us to do the trench,” she said.
She notified the District of Squamish and was told someone would be getting back to her this week to address the issue.
Once the trenches are completed, then construction on the new shelter will begin.
Calderoni said she has a waiting list of volunteers ready to be called when rebuilding of the shelter begins.
Calderoni rents the property on Government Road in North Yards, and though the Alberta-based landlord has said he won’t donate to the cost of rebuilding or repairing the yards, he plans to eventually sell the property to Calderoni, she said.
Local Amber Gould is donating her time to help develop a crowd-funding campaign to raise funds. The campaign will be launched in the New Year.
Calderoni said the centre would still welcome donations of towels, blankets, dog treats and cash.
To donate, go to caninevalley.com, click on Save A Dog and then click Donate – or call the society at 604-773-5897.
Alhough the Squamish Valley Music Festival Campground is near the Canine Valley Re-education and Adventure Centre Society (CVRAC) and rainwater was pooling in the campground after late November rains, that did not contribute to the flooding situation on the CVRAC property, according to John Grainger, municipal engineer at the District of Squamish. “Water levels never rose or backed up to a point that would have flooded the CVRAC lot,” Grainger said.
“Water collects in the southwest corner of the campground next to the district’s lift station and is trapped there, or flows to the northeast side along Pioneer Way towards Highway 99 via culverts and the storm sewer in front of the Sandman Hotel.”
Water also collects in the northwest
corner of the campground site, and if the water levels continue to rise, it enters the Aspen Road ditches, which flow to a buried storm sewer system that crosses Queens Way. The water then flows along Government Road to the railroad track and ultimately drains into Whittaker Slough and then on to the Squamish River, he said.
According to Grainger, engineers monitored and recorded the water elevations of Whittaker Slough and the area’s adjacent ditches during the extreme rainfall in late November.
