The first payment has been made under a new arrangement that should see a controversial donation to a territorial organization return to Hay River.
The agreement has been reached between the Hay River Animal Welfare Society and the Northwest Territories SPCA.
In May, the board of the former Hay River SPCA announced the organization was dissolving, and that it had donated its remaining assets – including almost $48,000 – to the NWT SPCA.
Now, the Hay River Animal Welfare Society, which has replaced the Hay River SPCA, has received a $6,500 cheque from the NWT SPCA, and that is hoped to be the beginning of a three-year plan for the return of the entire donation.
"It is a lot of money, and it's good that we're going to be getting it back," said Kelsey Gill, the president of the Hay River Animal Welfare Society, noting the group's members are really excited.
Gill said she was very happy to see the first $6,500 installment.
"I got the cheque in the mail and I cried," she said. "So yes, we're very happy to start that."
The NWT SPCA is also pleased with the new arrangement.
"Working with the Hay River Animal Welfare Society will be a benefit to the North," said Nicole Spencer, the president of the NWT SPCA. "The agreement our organizations have reached is beneficial to both parties and is positive for both parties involved."
Spencer said the three-year arrangement is designed to be fiscally responsible with the donated money and also to make things more organized over the long run for both organizations.
"A plan is always a good route to take," she said.
The NWT SPCA announced in a statement in May that its board would re-donate the money if and when there was a registered non-profit organization in Hay River willing to continue a spay/neuter program.
The Hay River Animal Welfare Society has submitted a three-year budget to the NWT SPCA for the anticipated return of the funds.
Gill said she hopes the arrangement will satisfy community residents who were upset by the donation by the former Hay River SPCA.
"We just don't want any hard feelings," she said, while recognizing that people get emotional when dealing with animals. "So people tend to get a little more upset than what you would normally think is fair."
Gill is also encouraging people to support both the Hay River Animal Welfare Society and the NWT SPCA.
The first $6,500 payment is for the remainder of the fiscal year to March 31 and will allow the Hay River Animal Welfare Society to restart a spay and neuter program, which offers rebates to help control the population of dogs and cats.
Gill noted the program will pay $175 for a dog and $125 for a cat to pet owners with receipts, retroactive to April 1, 2016.
The $6,500 will also partially be used for an emergency medical fund and to help the town-owned Hay River Animal Shelter with any needs it might have.
Gill noted the NWT SPCA will also be returning some physical assets – like litter boxes, leashes, collars and crates – that had been donated.
Those items will be given to the animal shelter.
After the controversial donation by the former Hay River SPCA and the group's supposed dissolution, some community residents discovered that the dissolution had not been done properly, and they took steps to revive the SPCA.
The first step was an annual general meeting in June.
The membership also decided to change the name of the organization.
The Hay River Animal Welfare Society became the organization's official name in early December.