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Stray dogs are a serious problem for many northern Canadian communities. Many don’t have veterinary clinics and very few dogs are spayed or neutered. The obvious result is a growing population of homeless dogs. In addition, since mechanized vehicles have largely replaced dog teams as a mode of transport, the demand for working dogs has decreased.
In January 1999 a schoolteacher in the small town of Kangirsuk in northern Quebec contacted the Boston office of the World Society for the Protection of Animals to tell them about “dog shooting days.” For many isolated northern communities, this is the method used to solve the problem of stray dogs: dog owners are told to keep their dogs confined on the designated day when stray dogs are rounded up and shot. In Kangirsuk, “dog shooting days” areconducted three or four times a year.
When WSPA heard about the scheduled dog shooting, they began making arrangements to rescue six stray dogs slated to be shot on February 11, 1999. The SPCA in Montreal helped find homes for the dogs, all between 3 months and one year in age. They were adopted by people experienced with northern dog breeds.
Recognizing that the rescue of the six dogs was only a temporary answer, WSPA organized a spay/neuter day in Kangirsuk. Dr. Amanda Glew and her veterinary assistant Jane Ashfield from Hudson, Quebec, donated their time to fly to Kangirsuk to sterilize and vaccinate as many dogs as possible on April 20. Out of approximately 40 owned dogs in the town, 16 were spayed or neutered and vaccinated. An additional 16 sled dogs were vaccinated and three cats were spayed or neutered.
WSPA is exploring the possibility of holding more mobile spay/neuter clinics in communities in northern Quebec later in 1999.
Editor’s note: CFHS is a member organization of the World Society for the Protection of Animals
