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9| The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,June 21,2018 theifp.ca Paying before you pump creates a safer environment for all by preventing gas and dash injuries and fatalities. Husky is being proactive and requiring pre-pay transactions at its stations across the province. And its retailers and attendants are big supporters. "You hear tragic stories of employees trying to stop a gas theft and getting hurt, or even killed, and you often wonder if this could happen to you," says Mike, who works at a St. Catharines Husky. "Even though we aren't supposed to try to stop these incidents, pre-pay ensures there is no dispute at the pump and helps me get home to my family at the end of every shift." Pre-pay requires customers to purchase fuel before they fill up their vehicles, either at the pump or in-store. To date, there have been no deaths as the result of a gas and dash incident in provinces where pre-pay has been implemented. Lawrence Richler, Vice President, Canadian Products Marketing, says Husky moved to prepayment for fuel after the loss of Surinder Pal Singh. Mr. Singh was celebrating the grand opening of his Husky retail site in Edmonton when he was drawn into a dispute with a customer over a fuel payment. He suffered injuries during the altercation which proved fatal. "Surinder's senseless passing shook all of us and challenged us to reaffirm our commitment to the safety of those working at our retail sites. While we were mitigating the risk associated with fuel payment, it wasn't enough - we needed to eliminate it," says Richler. The Canada Safety Council strongly supports the pre-pay fuel system. "We commend companies that are taking the initiative around pre-pay," explains Jack Smith, president of the Canada Safety Council. "Corporations and consumers both must do their part and contribute to the decline of injury and fatalities in Canada and we are proud to see companies realize this transition to a pre-payment system can make a big impact." Husky wants its customers to know that pre-pay is about keeping everyone safe. "No gas fill-up is worth a life," adds Mike. "I want my customers to realize the small act of pre-paying for fuel not only keeps me safe, it can also keep them out of possible harm's way." Thank you Safety First: Why pre-paying for gas saves lives ADVERTORIAL have an easy answer for her. There was no machine large enough in Canada. The only option Jenkins and Walter were presented with was to take Esther to the U.S. - an alternative that was not without a host of other issues. Jenkins says due to the legal regulations associat- ed with transporting a pig across the border, it was simply not feasible. "You can go with a dog, you can go with a cow, you can go with a horse for the weekend, but you can't, for whatever reason, go with a pig, so that was a whole dif- ferent set of challenges," Jenkins said. "They would have put her into a govern- ment quarantine facility, just not something that we were going to do, especially because she was sick." Jenkins said he and Walter were surprised by the lack of equipment nec- essary to help larger ani- mals in the country. "We just assumed that they had that sort of equip- ment and that any univer- sity would have that sort of equipment, and so it was a huge shock to find out they didn't," he said. Because Esther was un- able to receive the CT scan, a definitive diagnosis was unable to be delivered. Though she likely has- musculoskeletal issues and is currently doing much better and is back at home, Jenkins says it is im- possible to determine the proper methods to help her heal. "Should we be pushing her to be more active? Will that help improve the prob- lem and keep her strong and keep her healthy, or should we not be encourag- ing activity because that could aggravate the under- lying issue?" Jenkins asked. "We don't know." So, Jenkins and Walter made a bold promise to the OVC: they would find a way to bring the necessary CT scanner to Canada. "I think they thought we were just being emotional at the time, because all this was happening while Es- ther was still in the hospi- tal," Jenkins said. "But as the negotiations continued on, they obviously realized we were very, very seri- ous." Lawyers were involved, accountants were in- volved, Canadian Customs was involved and papers were signed. And thus ensued Es- ther's online campaign to raise money for a scanner that would be able to help other animals her size and larger. Jenkins and Walter's goal was to raise $651,000 (Canadian) by July 1. And with tens of thousands of online followers, they were confident that Esther could make it happen. As of June 18, Jenkins said their unaudited total was about $603,000. "We're super, super ex- cited," Jenkins said. "We are under $50,000 Canadian away; it's ridiculous." The machine, called the Pegaso CT Scanner, is de- signed for the purpose of equine imaging and pro- vides exceptionally high resolution images, using less radiation. Jenkins says aside from the opportunity to provide equipment that has never been available in Canada before, he has advocated for making the machine af- fordable for certain organi- zations that may require usage for their ailing ani- mals. "One of the really cool things we negotiated with Guelph is any registered charity or not-for profit with a focus on rescue and rehabilitation of large ani- mals will gain free access to the machine by way of a discount.," he said. He added that he is thrilled to be able to help others with animals in sim- ilar circumstances to Es- ther. "This is one of those things that is so much big- ger than us, so it was an op- portunity to do something really significant." For further informa- tion, or to donate, visit theestherscanner.com/. NEWS l Continued from page 1 Porky pig helps raise more than $600K "You can go with a dog, you can go with a cow, you can go with a horse for the weekend, but you can't, for whatever reason, go with a pig, so that was a whole different set of challenges," - Steve Jenkins, one of Esther's owners Please keep our community clean!