LightShine Canine rescues dogs on S. Dakota Indian reservations

I was scrolling through my Facebook feed, and there was an awful story about a 49-year-old woman killed by stray dogs on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

In response to the woman’s death, stray-dog “roundups” were taking place where dogs would be gathered up and killed.

Most of the comments in response to this story were from people criticizing the stray-dog problem or from people criticizing the “roundups.”

But a friend of mine left a comment directing people to a group called LightShine Canine because it’s making a real difference for stray dogs on two South Dakota Indian reservations: Rosebud and Pine Ridge.

LightShine Canine: A reservation dog rescue

No matter what your feelings are about the dog roundups or the loose-dog problem on various reservations, I want to focus on what LightShine Canine is doing to help.

If you check out its Facebook page, you’ll see one of its mottos is “Boots on the ground, paws off the ground.”

It works regularly with the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation with “full cooperation and permission from the Oglala Sioux Tribe” to rescue unwanted and stray dogs, according to its Facebook page.

Due to the recent dog roundups on the Rosebud Reservation (located more than 100 miles to the east of Pine Ridge), LightShine is currently focusing much of its attention there, rescuing as many dogs and puppies as it can.

More info on LightShine Canine Rescue

I spoke on the phone with KC Willis, the director of LightShine Canine.

At any given time, she estimates there are between 2,000 and 2,500 stray dogs on the Pine Ridge reservation.

She said LightShine took in 1,250 reservation dogs in 2014 and with the help of dozens of volunteers, got them transported to various rescue groups for adoption, mostly in Minnesota. The dogs were spayed/neutered prior to adoption.

The photos you see in this post are of puppies and dogs posted on the group’s Facebook page.

Willis said so many of the stray dogs are friendly and end up making nice pets. They crave things like human companionship or a warm blanket.

Only a small percentage of the dogs are aggressive, she said. Although they don’t all trust people at first.

Some run away at “50 miles per hour” because they are scared or they flatten to the ground. She said dogs have looked to her with an expression that says, “Help me or kill me, but I give up.”

Why can’t they just spay and neuter their pets?

People outside of the reservations ask questions such as:

Why can’t they just spay and neuter their dogs?

Or, why have a dog if you’re not going to take care of it?

One thing to keep in mind is that the majority of the stray dogs do not have owners, Willis said.

I asked her how she responds to comments like the questions above, and she said these are “first-world comments and suggestions given to a third-world country.”

Her answer may seem a bit extreme, until you look at the statistics.

Here are some stats about Pine Ridge (sources below):

• 80% of residents are unemployed
• 49% live below the Federal poverty level
• Per capita income is $6,286
• Infant mortality rate is 5 times higher than the national average
• Life expectancy in 2007 was estimated to be 48 for males and 52 for females

Willis said there is no veterinarian on the Pine Ridge reservation, which is larger than the state of Rhode Island. There is no veterinarian on Rosebud either.

She said 85 percent of the adults are alcoholics and the teen suicide rate is the highest in the country. She describes the area as the poorest in the nation.

When families struggle to have their children taken care of, Willis said caring for a dog is “not on the radar” even though most are animal lovers.

What you can do to help

Share LightShine Canine Rescue on Facebook

I heard about LightShine Canine by seeing it pop up in my news feed (thanks Patti!). If some of you wouldn’t mind sharing this post or heading to Facebook to interact on the rescue’s page, it does make a difference.

Donate or volunteer

If you would like to donate to LightShine Canine Rescue, it has a donate button on the left column of its Facebook page. It will take you to a secure PayPal page.

If you’re in the region and want to volunteer by transporting dogs, I’m sure the group could use you.

Educate yourself

Most people are not even aware of the conditions on so many of the Indian reservations, so educating yourself is the first place to start. You can’t show true compassion for animals until you first show compassion for people.

More info on Pine Ridge:

Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation

Re-Member (non-profit seeking to improve quality of life on the reservation)
Wikipida page

Further reading:

Dog roundup approved after dog attack (Rapid City Journal)

8-year-old killed by dogs on Pine Ridge (2014 story, Argus Leader)

Were you aware of the stray-dog problem on some Indian reservations?