Frontier Animal Society founder dies

By Steve Blake, Special to The Record

Joyce Dekker was an activist who fought against cruelty to animals. The organization she founded in 1986 continues to advocate for better animal welfare. Dekker, the founder of Frontier Animal Society (FAS), died Friday, February 28 at 82. She was nearly totally blind due to macular degeneration and she had been diagnosed with cancer, according to Caroline Kemp, a member of the FAS board of directors. Dekker was born and was educated in the Stanstead area. She had been working in Florida but decided to return to her roots, and when she came home she brought with her a trailer full of cats and dogs, Kemp said in an interview Tuesday. She recognized that there were few resources in the area to care for stray cats. Dekker also started taking in dogs, boarding them at a facility in North Hatley while arranging for adoptions. She eventually built a shelter. “For many years she took care of herself, and 40 dogs and cats,” Kemp said. “She would often feed the animals before she fed herself.” See full story in the Thursday, March 5 edition of The Record.

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