Dog (and people) lady Noreen Gaskin helps because she must

A stray dog in Cornelia Ida, West Coast Demerara similar to the ones fed by Noreen Gaskin and her staff (photo by Terrence Thomas)

On any given day, Noreen Gaskin or her employees can be found feeding stray dogs on the streets or in the National Park and according to the businesswoman and humanitarian her “love affair” started almost 20 years ago and it has grown over the years, with her having some 22 dogs in her home at one time.

It is not just dogs that the owner of the Sentinel Security Inc goes above and beyond for, she also would not think twice of going into her pot for a plate of food to feed someone who is hungry, or into her pocket to make a monetary contribution. However, she is drawn to dogs because they cannot talk. Gaskin said she remembers her own poverty-stricken upbringing and how she felt when she was hungry. It is the thought that dogs have the same feelings but cannot express them in words that keeps her returning to the streets to feed them.

Her day begins at 4 am and the first thing she does is to document how many dogs need to be fed, which ones are sick and need the vet, and which ones need to be groomed. It is sometimes a burdensome task, but she would have it no other way.