Travelling spay and neuter program visits Pangnirtung

Dozens of Pangnirtung students filed into the airport maintenance garage over four days this month to watch veterinarians prepare and perform surgeries on local animals.

“They all loved the experience. They got anatomy lessons, and learned how vets spay and neuter animals—the boys didn’t like that part too much,” said Chris Robinson during an interview in Iqaluit on Sept. 24.

Robinson is the executive director of the Canadian Animal Assistance Team, a non-profit group based in Vancouver that travels all over Canada to provide free veterinarian services in communities where such services are lacking.

“Everyone in our organization is an animal lover and wants to provide their expertise where it’s otherwise not available,” Robinson said.

Vet techs Laura Sutton (left) and Josiane Frigon prepare a canine patient for surgery. (Photo courtesy of the Canadian Animal Assistance Team)

Robinson led an eight-member team of veterinarians, technicians and assistants to Pangnirtung where they saw 73 dogs and three cats between Sept. 17 and 20. Most of those animals came for surgery, but some only for vaccines, Robinson said.

And because this was the organization’s second visit to Pangnirtung in two years, they were also able to provide booster vaccines to some animals, she said. Last year the team saw 85 animals.

“We really get to meet and visit with community members and hear their stories,” Robinson said.

The organization has been coming up to Nunavut since 2006, when it was invited to Igloolik by then-mayor Paul Quassa. It also went to Baker Lake for five consecutive years.

The organization only goes to communities when it is invited by local leaders, does not force its services on any community members and does not take animals out of communities, Robinson said.

“We want the communities to welcome us and be open to what we’re doing.”

Robinson remembered one Inuk man who raised sled dogs and was skeptical of the visiting veterinarians. The first year, he did not want to have any of his dogs spayed or neutered. He feared it would affect their performance. But over the next few years, the man did have some of his dogs spayed and neutered and found the dogs were more focused, kept weight on easier and fought less, Robinson said.

The organization learned some of its own lessons early on too.

The first year in Igloolik the team went knocking door-to-door asking if residents wanted their animals spayed or neutered.

“People didn’t seem comfortable with that, so we stopped doing that,” Robinson said.

Whatever community they visit, the team is provided with accommodation and meals. That makes things a bit easier for the staff, who are all volunteers, pay for their own airfare and use vacation time for these trips.

In Pangnirtung, a resident loaned the team her house while she was away. And other residents chipped in for food, Robinson said.

“They gave us a lot of fish in Pang,” she said.

“We worked most of the time we were there, but we usually make sure the staff get one day off to see the community.”

For more information, you can find the Canadian Animal Assistance team on Facebook or contact Robinson at canadiananimalassistanceteam@gmail.com.