History
Ana-Maria Davies became an SPCA volunteer and private dog rescue advocate in the mid 1990′s. Inspired by her love for her own, two rescued Boston terriers, Simon and Trinket, she became involved with the rescue of other Bostons. Since there was no formal Boston terrier rescue in her home province of BC at the time, she herself started helping the homeless and needy. Because of her passion for and dedication to the breed, she was asked by the Boston Terrier Club of Canada to create the Club’s Rescue Program and to act as its national rescue representative. Her vision, commitment and hard work soon laid the foundation for the success that followed.
Ontario native Kelly Pankatz’s own love affair with Boston terriers began when she acquired her first Boston terrier, Zelda Marie, in 1996. Eager to learn more about the breed, she connected online with a group of dedicated and knowledgeable people throughout North America. United by their passion for the breed, Kelly worked with Susan Hunter, Linda Trader, Susan Miller, Vivian Blanton, Carol Westinbrooke and Patti Stott to form Boston Terrier Rescue Net.
Established as a non-profit group, it was dedicated to rescuing and re-homing abused, abandoned and surrendered Bostons. With most of the work taking place south of the border, and rescue in Canada growing steadily, Kelly left the group in 2002 to work more closely with Ana-Maria and the BTCC Rescue Program.
To ensure and support their continuing growth, they formed a separate non-profit organization in 2009 under the name Boston Terrier Rescue Canada (BTRC), and were granted official charitable status in April of 2010. By this time, Ana-Maria, although still a director, had assumed a smaller role in the organization, and Kelly became BTRC’s first president.
Meanwhile, what had begun as a two-person team had been expanding rapidly, as more and more volunteers added their support to the burgeoning group. This, in turn, provided them with a new range of opportunities such as attending and sponsoring dog-themed events and educating the public about responsible dog ownership.
Margot Arsenault, who would become BTRC’s next president, joined the group in 2007. Margot began as a foster and quickly became a volunteer. Three years later, she was appointed Adoptions Coordinator. She became Vice President in 2012 and when Kelly decided to step down, she took over as President in July of 2013 and held this position until 2019.
Tina Daquano, another long-time volunteer, originally joined the BTRC team as an events volunteer, moving on to hold the positions of Secretary and Fundraising Co-ordinator. She was elected President in 2020.