Rabbit Island gets thrown to the dogs
An Alberta vet has bought the $2.2-million deserted land as a haven for her pets, some of which were rescued after hurricane Katrina
SHANNON MONEO

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

April 10, 2008 at 4:48 AM EDT

VICTORIA — When a foursome of pit bulls set paws on Rabbit Island, the 15-hectare chunk of unsullied wilderness off the Sunshine Coast will be a world away from the filthy, hot crates the dogs called home for six weeks.

Rescued after hurricane Katrina chewed up the U.S. South, the dogs are owned by Alberta veterinarian Pilar Gosselin, who, with fellow Alberta vets Dave Brace and Dave Szentimrey, paid $2.2-million to buy deserted Rabbit Island as a refuge for the traumatized pups.

After a cold, one-hour visit in January, the deal was sealed with the island's former owner, California-based Orange Coast College. Dr. Gosselin knew her "special needs" pets, which spent six weeks sitting in feces and urine-filled crates under the scorching southern sun because animal shelters were overwhelmed after the hurricane, would lap up the place.

"I've committed myself to making the dogs' lives better," said Dr. Gosselin, a vet since 1993, when she graduated from the University of Saskatchewan. "They can be themselves, not cause trouble, not evoke hostility."

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California sailor and businessman Henry Wheeler gave Rabbit Island, named for its shape, to Orange Coast College in 2002. Now, instead of a dozen scientists roaming the unique habitat to document five-centimetre long grasshoppers or resilient cacti, a menagerie of tough canines will enjoy a dog's life.

Last month, Dr. Gosselin, who said she would choose to have dogs over children any day brought three of her seven dogs to Rabbit Island for their first holiday.

"The dogs loved it, and the opportunity to run in and out of the lodge at their leisure with nothing to get into trouble with," she said.

By summer, all seven of her dogs will have spent time on the island, where they will have a permanent attendant to look after them during their stays.

The lucky seven include rescued pit bulls Katrina, Ripple, Louie, Faye and shepherd mix Swami, plus the Canadian canines Jack the Rottweiler and Sprout the mutt.

When they're not vacationing on Rabbit Island, the pets fill Dr. Gosselin's small house in downtown Canmore, Alta. Daily walks are in shifts of three.

Regular residents in Canmore are supportive, but neighbours who spend only the weekends are less tolerant.

When hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. in 2005, Dr. Gosselin, 40, knew she had to do something to help the abandoned animals.

"I chose to be an advocate for animals. Animals can't advocate for themselves."

For three weeks, she volunteered in the heat and havoc in the small Mississippi community of Tylertown, two hours north of New Orleans.

Dr. Brace, Dr. Gosselin's partner at her Canmore vet clinic and also her partner after-hours, joined her for two weeks.

Hundreds of traumatized animals passed through the St. Francis Animal Sanctuary, where toxic sludge was washed off their bodies and medical needs were met. If the animals were lucky, they were then shipped to new homes.

One year after Katrina, thousands of dogs remained homeless. So Dr. Gosselin and the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals gradually flew about 35 of them to Alberta.

All were adopted except for five "special needs cases," now members of Dr. Gosselin's family.

Hearing that the dogs would have access to their own island, Judy Pfister, the St. Francis shelter's vice-president, welcomed the change.

"It'll be a 2-million-per-cent increase in their quality of life," she said.

While St. Francis doesn't euthanize its animals, the pit bulls, bred to attack other dogs, were unlikely to be adopted and would have lived out their days in a kennel.

Many more Katrina dogs could be rescued by Dr. Gosselin, but Rabbit Island isn't destined to become Dog Isle.

Only after a dog dies will a new one take its place, she said.

The deer and other critters that share Rabbit Island aren't on the pups' supper menu.

"The dogs won't be allowed to harass the wildlife," Dr. Gosselin promised, adding that they will be trained to stay away from non-canines.

As the dogs get accustomed to the new surroundings, they will spend increasingly longer periods on Rabbit Island so that Dr. Gosselin and Dr. Brace can travel.

The island has a lodge, four cabins, a bathhouse, a desalination plant and equipment to produce solar and wind power, and Dr. Gosselin intends to preserve its ways.

Finding a caretaker won't be difficult.

Suddenly a swell of friends have come forward, hoping to reel in an invitation to Rabbit Island, accessible only by boat or float plane.

"The island concept is everybody's dream. You say the word 'island' and everybody kind of goes crazy," she said.

As for the $2.2-million price paid for the secluded dog haven, "There's houses that sell for 10 times that in Canmore," Dr. Gosselin said.