In the foothills of the Beaufort Range in Port Alberni, a new dog rescue is finding "furever" homes for homeless dogs on Vancouver Island.
Furever Endeavour Rescue Network (FERN) is a registered non-profit society that helps dogs who need re-homing. The society works with remote communities that are struggling with overpopulation and collaborates with other rescue organizations to build an effective and compassionate network.
Cydney Pedersen, one of the founders of FERN, said the idea was born when she and her husband, Darien Edgeler, stayed at an Airbnb in Portugal that doubled as an animal sanctuary.
"It was this unreal experience," Pedersen said. "We fell in love with the whole vibe of it, and it inspired this idea that we would love to do an animal sanctuary one day."
When the former Dogwood Boading Kennels property became available in Beaver Creek, "the stars aligned," said Pedersen, and FERN was founded in December 2022. The shelter officially opened in February 2024, and Pedersen began taking in dogs with co-founder Lee Voorspools.
Voorspools, originally from Belgium, said she has always been interested in helping dogs, especially dogs who need to be adopted or re-homed.
"I'm a very strong believer in the concept of not bringing more mixed-breed dogs into the world, if there are already so many that don't have homes," she said. "I adopted my first senior dog once I had a place of my own with a yard. That was my confirmation that rescue dogs were going to be a part of my life."
She moved to Canada in 2017, where she started fostering and volunteering with another rescue. She specializes in fostering dogs with behavioural issues, who sometimes need longer foster periods and help from trainers before they can be matched up with their forever families.
Voorspools, who now has two rescue dogs of her own, met Pedersen while they were volunteering together and discovered they had the same dream of opening their own dog rescue.
"We noticed there was a big need locally for people needing to re-home their dogs," said Voorspools. "And there are remote communities locally on the Island that face challenges with overpopulation. We figured there were enough dogs in need to go around for us to start our own thing with our own values."
The rescue is located on a fully-fenced, five-acre property in Beaver Creek. The property hosts multiple separately fenced areas, as well as a fully renovated adoption centre with kennels.
Most of their intake comes from the CARE Network in Tofino, which rescues animals in remote communities on the West Coast. As of the end of this summer, FERN had adopted out 15 dogs.
"We've received a really warm welcome here in the Valley," said Voorspools. "From people, but also from local businesses. Bosley's in Port Alberni has been really supportive and helpful."
While the rescue has received donations and volunteer help, they are in desperate need of foster homes for dogs and puppies. Foster applications have been slow, which means things are also moving slow when it comes to getting dogs into their forever homes.
"That takes a long time," said Pedersen. "They're in our care for quite a while, which is not ideal. The goal is for the dogs to not spend as much time with us, but to get ready to be adopted and then move into their adopted homes."
Fostering with FERN is completely free. The society covers costs such as veterinary care, food and treats, and FERN will lend any and all items that fosters might need for their dog (such as collars and harnesses, bowls, crates, baby gates, beds, blankets and pee pads).
Anyone who is interested in fostering, volunteering or adopting a rescue dog can contact FERN through their website at .
