John King
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Jan 23/06) - There are a lot of stray dogs in town, says Jeff Otto, Inuvik's dog catcher.

A Northerner for more than 35 years - having raised his two daughters in the North - Otto moved to Inuvik from Whitehorse six years ago.

"When I first came up the Dempster, my wife's concern was that I was taking her to the middle of nowhere," Otto said.

Three flat tires later, Otto rolled into Inuvik breathing a sigh of relief.

"I phoned my wife and I said 'Inuvik has got to be some place because I just got three flat tires in the middle of nowhere'," he said, before breaking into a fit of laughter.

Otto has been the town dog catcher for the past two and a half years, and says the number of animals being destroyed has decreased dramatically.

"We were destroying 10 a week when I first started," he said. "Now, it's only one or so a month, and even then it's only a last resort."

Otto has been instrumental in ensuring animals not claimed by owners are sent to the SPCA in Calgary.

A man of many talents, Otto also runs a wild game meat shop.

"We dry and smoke caribou, muskox, bison, and elk," Otto explained of his Delta meat and sausage shop.

With the caribou populations dwindling, however, Otto is now turning to reindeer.

"I'm trying to get ready for the tourist season and the lack of caribou has caused me to turn to other sources of meat to sell the tourists," he said.

The Northerner is now shoring up a contract to buy reindeer from Alberta.

"People come up North for different reasons," Otto said. "Some for adventure and others to escape their life down south."

For Otto, the North is about a way of living.

"There's not a lot of pressure here and every day is a new adventure."

A place like Inuvik can seem claustrophobic at times, though, says Otto.

"People just talk because there is nothing else to do," Otto said.

Being the town dog catcher, as well as owning his own meat shop, Otto says there have been occasional embarrassments.

"Some people joke that we use dog meat," Otto said. "This is hurtful because that part of my life is all about caring for animals. I don't like violence and don't like to destroy animals."

Otto's life may seem a paradox, but to him, it's really quite simple.

"You just take the gossip with a grain of salt," Otto said.