Dear Editor,

It takes an entire community to run an animal shelter and this weekend the residents and guests of Whistler came together to do just that. Thanks to the generous contributions from local businesses and wineries, Whistler Animals Galore raised in excess of $30,000 to replenish our critical care fund for 2013.

This fund provides costly surgeries for animals like Atlas; a very special dog who was abandoned at a campground and left to fend for himself for 18 months. After multiple surgeries, and months of recovery, Atlas’s happy ending came last week when he was adopted into his forever home.

WAG is a second chance for hundreds of animals just like Atlas, for which happy endings would not be possible without the community’s generous financial support.

A very sincere thank you goes out to first Watermark and Tourism Whistler, which made WAG the selected charity for this year’s Cornucopia event. Secondly, a heartfelt thank you for everyone who donated an item to the silent auction, as well as everyone who purchased the items, often for more money than the item was valued at. A finally, a tremendous thank you to the troop of a hundred plus volunteers that spent their weekend working on any and every task necessary to make the event the success it was; every contribution is inspiring and works together to indeed make a difference.

This year WAG was able to accept over 300 animals through its doors, thanks to the generous support of Whistlers bountiful community. On behalf of the animals of WAG I would like to extend the warmest thank you to each and every individual; your hard work, compassion and outstanding contribution has allowed us to have a critical care safety net for 2013. Thanks to everyone in Whistler, for continuing to hold WAG close to their hearts.

Shannon Broderick

Director of Shelter Operations

WAG – Whistler Animals Galore