Community Moment | Samuel Régis and his four-legged friends
Samuel Régis was always surrounded by animals when he was growing up. So much so that we could almost call him Doctor Dolittle!
Over different periods of time, the family household featured his faithful Labrador Max, Misty the cat and her 10 kittens, as well as a family of homeless turtles.
That’s why when the Rouyn-Noranda staff was looking for volunteers to go visit the La Bonne Étoile animal shelter, Régis was the first to raise his hand.
Growing up in Chateauguay, Quebec, young Samuel began taking care of his animals, alongside both his brothers, when he was just 8 years old. The ritual was part of their daily routine.
As far as he can remember, animals were always part of his life.
“When I was young, we found a stray cat and we adopted her. One year later, she had a bunch of kittens and they all stayed with us”, recalls the now 20-year-old. “But one day, she disappeared. She finally came back just before winter and ended up giving birth to another litter of kittens!”
Despite the daunting task, a young Régis made it his job to feed all his new little friends on a daily basis.
“It wasn’t that bad because they never went into the house”, he remembers. “They were all living in the garage. We always played with them, so it wasn’t a burden to care of them.”
One day, it’s a family of turtles that decided to make the Régis household their new home.
“The mother laid her eggs just in front of our house. On one stormy day, the little eggs hatched, and the turtles started to go in the wrong direction. They were heading for the road!”, remembers the Huskies defenseman.
“A few of them got run over, but we managed to save 13. We placed them in a big aquarium and kept them until the next spring. We then released them back in the wild.”
That’s why Samuel Régis has become, along with five of his teammates, a true ambassador for the refuge. He hopes to make the population aware of the fate that is unfortunately too often reserved for household pets.
“Many animals are abandoned each year. But luckily, there are people who step up to care for them”, he admits. “We wanted to use our status in Rouyn-Noranda to create awareness and help the refuge along the way.”
And as luck would have it, Samuel Régis ended up in a billet family who owns a dog named Buddy, a labrador that reminds him of his old pal Max.
“It’s the same breed and he’s a dog that has a lot of energy. I think he adopted me quickly as his new friend”, he laughs.
The defenseman couldn’t imagine a life without his many four-legged friends and that’s why he accepted to get involved with La Bonne Étoile.
“Animals brought me so much when I was young. I had a lot of fun with all of them”, he remembers. “We simply want people to realize that it’s a lot better to send their animal to a shelter instead of abandoning them.”
