ARC's Team
Margaret and Ruth have been working with shelter and rescue dogs for over 20 years. Margaret adopted her first dog in 1996 after she and her husband went camping on Galiano Island and returned with a six-month old blue-eyed Aussie shepherd X vomiting in the back seat of their Honda Prelude. After running alone in the forest for a month, Mara was a poster dog for separation anxiety. She destroyed part of a wall, the cushions on a window seat, and the arm of a sofa before Margaret hired an amazing trainer to help. It wasn't a miraculous or fast turnaround, but with consistency, positive training methods, and appropriate mental and physical exercise, Mara became the best dog she could be. This inspired Margaret to get her trainer certification and help shelter and rescue dogs get adopted and stay adopted. She also learned to reupholster furniture and fix damaged drywall. Margaret now uses her background as a teacher to help frustrated dogs train their people. She lives with two recycled Border Collies and a gentle 70 lb. mixed-breed rescue whose job is to lie around and get petted in a secondary school classroom.
Margaret met Ruth when they worked together as volunteer dog trainers and adoption coordinators at the Richmond SPCA. Ruth is currently living with Stanley, a gorgeous Border CollieX rescue that Margaret convinced her to adopt because she felt Ruth needed a challenge. Stanley's beautiful fluffy tri-coloured coat and soulful eyes win over everyone he meets and hide a stubborn streak and dismissive attitude that makes Ruth's life with him very difficult most of the time.
Aidan brings youthful ambition and technical expertise to the team. Aidan has been a part of ARC officially since 2015 but has been spiritually a part of ARC for his entire life, being raised in the Galan household alongside many beautiful rescue animals. Aidan is known for creating many media art assets for ARC including the CARE Movie and is planning more instalments for the near future.
Ruth, Margaret and Aidan enjoy playing with their dogs by participating in nose work, agility, tracking, and trick training.
Terrence brings sanity and his unique areas of expertise and experience to ARC's board, and we have been lucky to have many dedicated adopters, foster families, and supporters help us.