The former Tagish kennel owner has found a new location to temporarily house herself and her dogs while she looks for a more permanent place.

Shelley Cuthbert sat down with the Star Wednesday in downtown Whitehorse to speak about the latest developments.

She would not say where the new location is or who owns the land, but did say it’s private property.

She describes the area as isolated and feels it’s far enough away that there should be no complaints.

“It’s completely isolated,” she said.

The closest house is for sale, but condemned, she added.

“There won’t be any issues,” she said.

The land is between 32 to 35 acres. The family who owns it has set her up in a cabin at the back end of the property.

Cuthbert said the dogs need some peace. Her plan is to settle in and re-open her operation, the Any Domesticated Animal Rescue.

She explained that the family approached her with this offer after hearing about her situation.

She added the family, who she has known for a few years, has treated her well thus far.

Cuthbert was previously located on Crown land in the Tarfu Creek area. She moved there after an injunction was placed on her Tagish property in 2017.

She could not have more than two dogs on her property. This was a result of nuisance lawsuit brought against her by her neighbours. She appealed and lost the 2017 decision.

She said she was camping with her dogs on the Crown land until she could find somewhere to take her dogs.

The territorial Department of Energy, Mines and Resources (EMR) petitioned the Supreme Court of the Yukon to order her off the Crown land.

Aided by friends, she moved off the Tarfu Creek land last weekend. The move took two days. The dogs were moved to the new location first, then she moved the personal effects that she could.

Since her fencing is frozen in place, it could not be removed. She said there is not much she can do but will try to move it. She donated one of her tents, but it too is frozen into the ground.

She pointed out that the Supreme Court ordered her off the land as of March 1. She felt this meant she cannot return to the site after that date, and anything left behind will be EMR’s responsibility.

She would not specify the exact number of dogs in her care, but did say it’s between 55 and 60.

“It is not easy to move these dogs,” she added.

She explained that not everyone can handle the dogs. They are all crate-trained, but she has dogs of various sizes. Some are as light as 25 pounds, while others can be as heavy as 200 pounds.

She said her truck was the only vehicle that could get to the Tarfu Creek land. She had to load the dogs into her truck and transport them to a second truck and trailer.

It was a struggle because there were not enough crates for every dog. Some crates housed up to three dogs.

Cuthbert said she does have people helping her raise money for her effort. She points to a GoFundMe campaign that has been set up for her, to help pay to build a dog house for her operation.

The dog house is complete, and she is waiting for some of the snow on the property to melt so it can be installed.

The campaign’s goal is to raise $10,000. On the GoFundMe campaign’s website, $3,432 had been raised by 28 people as of this morning. The campaign is called Mission Possible.

She added that an individual donated a new truck to her after hers died during her time at Tarfu Creek.

“People are helping,” she said.

They can help in other ways, Cuthbert added; she is always in need of supplies.

She plans to look for a permanent place to house her rescue in the future. She said the dog house easily comes apart and can come with her easily.

She does not plan to buy land in the Yukon.

She feels, based on her court experiences, that she does not have property rights because she owns dogs.

Cuthbert does not know how long she will stay on this new property.

She said she is going to live one day at a time.

She said it’s time to relax and recover, as the two moves have been hard on her and the dogs.

She briefly touched upon how her rescue works.

She said she takes on dogs with behavioural challenges, and manages the dogs to help the animals through their issues.

Some may have issues severe enough that the dogs will not be adoptable.

She warns that people cannot go to her rescue to shop for a pet. Her goal is to find owners with the proper experience to deal with a troubled dog.

She will not adopt out an animal to a potential owner with no experience.

She said she matches dogs to potential owners based on experience and the animal’s needs.

“You get them (the dogs) managed to a level that they can be adopted to the right person with the right experience,” she said.

Potential owners will have to be able to continue a dog’s training after adoption.

Anyone interested in adopting or donating supplies is encouraged to contact Cuthbert through her rescue’s Facebook page. It can be found by searching Any Domesticated Animal Rescue on the site.