The veterinarian is in the hamlet
Animal health team makes annual visit to Rankin Inlet
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
RANKIN INLET/KIVALLIQ
Pet owners from Rankin Inlet and a number of communities across the Kivalliq had their furry family members to see the animal health team from the Winnipeg-based Tuxedo Animal Hospital in Rankin this past week.
Youth volunteer Rebekka Sanguin, 13, comforts Sally, a yellow Labrador retriever, following her procedure during the Winnipeg-based Tuxedo Animal Hospital's annual visit to Rankin Inlet - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo |
The team made the trek to Rankin to host the annual pet clinic in the community.
Veterinarian Dr. Jonas Watson led the Tuxedo team in Rankin.
Watson was making his third visit to Rankin during the past five years.
The animal doctor said one thing he's really noticed since he first started coming to Rankin is the human-animal bond is slowly growing in the community.
He said pet owners in Rankin are becoming increasingly conscientious of their animals' health and well-being, and ensuring they meet their needs.
"I'm seeing more people here feeding their pets higher-quality foods than in the past," said Watson.
"That's a trend going on right across North America now as pets are playing an ever-increasing role within the family unit, and Rankin Inlet seems to be no different.
"Pets are the new children for people who don't have families yet, or for empty-nesters who are looking for some place to dole out attention."
The Tuxedo health team sees a variety of medical conditions during its visit to Rankin, including lameness of various kinds, skin allergies and ear infections.
Spay and neuter surgeries account for about 50 per cent of the surgical procedures the team performs every year in an effort to help control overpopulation in the community.
Watson said while dogs still make up the vast majority of animals the team sees each year in Rankin, there were a lot more cats brought in to the clinic this year than in previous visits.
He said as a result, the team also performed far more cat surgeries than during any previous trip.
"We also heard from some people who were talking about the feral (born and raised in the wild, or abandoned or lost in the wild) cat population around their homes.
"So, it does appear there are a number of stray and wild cats living in Rankin Inlet.
"That's a situation we've never had to think about in Rankin before.
"With the weather here, you wouldn't think they'd be surviving so well, but, obviously, they are."
The unnecessary and over-vaccination of family pets has been grabbing a lot of headlines in the southern media for the past few years.
Watson said there is absolutely no concern for animals brought to the Tuxedo Animal Hospital for their care.
He said the hospital adheres to a fairly progressive vaccine schedule.
"We're stretching each vaccine we give out to its labelled dosing frequency, which, for many of them, is every three years, so we're not vaccinating in excess of that.
"There tends to be concern related to pets and people about over-vaccination and the adverse affects of that.
"The truth is, in veterinary medicine, we really don't see a lot of adverse consequences of pets being over-vaccinated, including those animals that are patients at practices where they're vaccinated for everything every year.
"Dogs, in particular, are living longer - not shorter - lives these days even when they're being over-vaccinated."
Watson said the main reasons behind why family dogs are living longer is that people are taking them to the vet more often, they're attentive to their weight and exercise needs and they're becoming increasingly interested in treating different diseases than they would have in the past.
He said even the quality of dog food is far better than it has been in the past, so most dogs are living at least one or two years longer than they were 20 years ago.
"Here in the Kivalliq environment, what poses the greatest threats to family canines are traumas of various kinds because dogs are a little bit looser here than they are in a more urban environment.
"Infectious disease is also right up there because a significant portion of the dog population here is not as vigilantly vaccinated as would be the case in the south.
"So, there's still higher instances of things like infectious parvovirus than we would see in the neighbourhood where we practise in Winnipeg.
"The diseases any given dog is at risk from are ones that are going to be spread by other dogs, so if your dog has been vaccinated for something like kennel cough, for example, it has a much reduced risk of contracting kennel cough when it's around groups of other dogs."
