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Caring for your pet Darrell Greer Northern News Services Published Wednesday, September 14, 2011
A veterinary clinic is being held at the curling club from Sept. 14-17, attended by veterinarian Jonas Watson and animal-health technician Jennifer Deakin of Winnipeg's Tuxedo Animal Hospital. The duo are giving advice on medical problems and performing checkups, immunizations, deworming, dental care and teeth cleaning, spaying and neutering, and other minor surgical procedures. Page Burt has been organizing the annual clinic for about five years now. In addition to handling logistics and booking appointments, Burt also helps handle dogs at the clinic. She said a few others in the community, such as Steve Hartman, also drop-in to lend a hand as needed. "Our numbers have stayed pretty much the same during the years I've been involved, averaging about 30 surgeries and 40 appointments per clinic," said Burt. "We, essentially, fill the time we have and try our best to accommodate people who call for an appointment after the clinic has started or who just show up, but that's not always possible. "We don't want people just showing up and sitting there waiting with dogs that are hard to handle. "We use the Nanuq Lodge number for appointments, but once the clinic starts I'm at the curling rink, so that can be a problem." The lodge donates rooms and meals for staff members during their stay, while the hamlet provides the curling rink free of charge. Burt said First Air donated the shipping of an anaesthesia machine to the clinic, and the Tuxedo Animal Hospital brought an autoclave, (which sterilizes instruments) to Rankin this year, which it's leaving in the community. She said people in Rankin have become a lot better at taking proper care of their pets, but there's still work to be done. "We've seen a lot more neuters in the past year, which means people are being more responsible concerning what their male dogs are doing. "With female dogs, people are realizing life is a lot easier if their dog isn't having pups every time it goes into heat. "Puppies are often treated like toys here and then abandoned, so the fewer we have the better." Burt said pet owners in need of assistance can approach the Kangiqliniq spay and neuter fund for help in having the procedures done. She said the fund can pay up to 50 per cent of the cost of a spay or a neuter. "We've had people ask us to cover the entire cost of a procedure, but it's important to spend some of your own money on a dog because then you tend to treasure it more. "People should also know we do rabies and parvo vaccinations throughout the year, so they don't have to spend lots of money just on vaccinations. "It's really important to have a puppy vaccinated at five or six weeks and, again, three weeks later for parvo, and at about 12 weeks for rabies. "The parvo shots are $10, which is at or below cost, and we often give them a dose of dewormer because most puppies get roundworms from their mother."
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