Forty golden retrievers from Cairo land in Toronto before import ban

A Golden Rescue happened at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport on Tuesday and just in the nick of time.

Canadian non-profit organization Golden Rescue brought home 40 golden retrievers from Cairo and the tail-wagging animals were thrilled to meet their owners right as they got off the plane.

The rescue’s spokesperson Jane Riddell says it’s their final airlift of dogs from Egypt (and Turkey, which they also work with) ahead of a new policy by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) that will ban the import of commercial dogs from more than 100 countries which are considered high-risk for canine rabies starting Sept. 28, also World Rabies Day.

“We have been working diligently to rescue as many dogs from Egypt as possible before the ban on international rescues goes into place,” said Riddell, on the phone from her London, Ont., home on Wednesday.

“For the record, we are 100% aligned with that (CFIA) objective. We obviously don’t want to endanger any Canadian person or animal. However, the ban caught us totally by surprise. We were blind-sided.”

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Chuck Skitch and Nancy Durnan Buott with Ranger. Christine Tomaselli Photo

Riddell said if they had been allowed to speak to CFIA — who said two dogs previously imported from Iran tested positive for rabies although there are no cases in Canada — before the ban was announced back in June, the organization would have been able to address any health concerns.

“All of our dogs that we bring over are vaccinated for rabies in the country of origin,” said Riddell.

“It’s a minimum of 45 days before they come here. They’re observed for neurological signs, they’re given a Titer test before they get on the plane. They see a vet within one to two days of arriving here. They’re given a booster if required. And obviously we’re very sad that is a problem for us because we know how horrible the conditions are for the dogs that live in Cairo and it means thousands of dogs will die needlessly.”

The group has rescued more than 1,700 dogs from abroad in the last five years but have been doing domestic rescues for a total of 32 years.

For now, Golden Rescue will focus its efforts across Canada but hasn’t given up on foreign rescues and has initiated a letter writing campaign to Parliament.

“We’re going to continue to try to work collaboratively with the CFIA to see if we can’t work towards a middle ground to get an exemption to the ban,” said Riddell.