Shelley Cuthbert finds 'completely isolated' home for troubled kennel
After months spent squatting on Yukon public land with dozens of dogs, Shelley Cuthbert has found a new home for her beleaguered kennel facility.
"I've landed in an area that is completely isolated," Cuthbert said on Monday, after spending the weekend moving "between 55 and 60" dogs in a convoy of vehicles to their new home.
"There's absolutely nobody around, except for the very kind family that's taken me in and allowed me to use a corner of their property."
This was the second forced move for Cuthbert and her animals in less than a year.
Last summer, a court order forced her to shut down the kennel at her home in Tagish. That's when she set up a makeshift kennel in a semi-remote forested area off the Atlin Road.
That spot was on public land, though, and the Yukon government went to court to force her to move. Last month, a Yukon Supreme Court judge agreed and ordered Cuthbert to clear out by March 1.
Cuthbert says she's done that now, although some fencing can't be taken away yet because it's frozen into the ground. It will be removed later, she says.
According to Cuthbert, a friend has now let her set up her kennel on part of his family's property. It's south of Whitehorse, but Cuthbert won't say exactly where.
"When the court decision came, he said, 'we're here to help you.' I said, 'well, I'm taking your help now,'" Cuthbert recalled.
'We need some downtime'
"I don't want to be harassed anymore. The dogs and I need privacy and we need some some downtime where there's not so much stress," she said.
Cuthbert is not sure how long she and her dogs will stay put. Her plan is to find something permanent, but she's not sure when.
"The family has said I can stay as long as I want. So there's no pressure for me to pack up and leave again, we're just making sure that the dogs aren't going to disturb them with any noise," she said.
"They're not noisy dogs and I've been saying that all along — they settle after like, five minutes."
Cuthbert's Tagish kennel was forced to shut down largely because her neighbours objected to the noise.
Speaking on Monday, she said she's had a lot of help and support in recent months. A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $3,400 in the last two weeks, to help cover her operating costs.
"I've never had a bad feeling about Yukoners. There's just a certain group of individuals that just want to keep putting that target on my back, to shut this kennel down," she said.
"It takes an awful lot to take me down, and they weren't successful and they're not going to be."
