Dogs need home for life
Food, water and shelter needed
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Monday, January 11, 2016
IQALUIT
Getting a dog is easy. Never easier, in fact.
"It's so easy to fly puppies in, buy them online, pick one up at NorthMart when they're being sold for 40 bucks," said Janelle Kennedy, president of the Iqaluit Humane Society.
"People need to understand, when you're bringing home a puppy it's like bringing home a baby and you need to be prepared to provide a home for life."
Also, dogs in Nunavut are rarely spayed or neutered, which leads to an abundance of puppies being born - if they survive a winter birth.
Asked why abuse and neglect of dogs seems so prevalent in the territory, Kennedy sighs and pauses.
"Root causes are tricky. Sometimes people are just not aware of what an animal requires for their health and well-being," she said.
"I'm talking about animals that are not Northern dogs. We see a lot of dogs come through our doors that are short-haired breeds, small breeds, toy breeds, the Shih Tzu, the corgi, the Chihuahua, pit bulls - I can't believe the number of pit bulls in Nunavut.
"And these dogs hate the cold. A lot of times the neglect happens because people are not bringing their dogs in their homes."
Another possible cause is that people might not know how to potty train a puppy.
"So quite often we'll have puppies surrendered to the pound because it won't stop peeing and pooping in the house. Well, you actually have to train it. It's not a sled dog. It's not tied up outside all the time. You have to actually train it to go outside. Two, we've had puppies that have been quarantined for biting. People might not understand that puppies get baby teeth. Puppy needs to chew. Puppy needs toys. They need to be corrected."
But even before the training becomes a concern, Kennedy says a puppy needs to stay with its mother for eight to 10 weeks.
"A lot of the behavioural problems that we see with animals coming through our doors is because people ended up getting the puppy at three weeks of age. That's too young. All kinds of behavioural problems start happening after that and they want to surrender the animal because they can't handle it."
Bernie Thompson, a representative of dog-rescue group Diamonds in The Ruff in Cambridge Bay, says dogs need, at minimum, food, water and shelter.
The housing situation in Nunavut is also very tricky, said Kennedy.
"Sometimes people get moved from one house to another. In one building they're allowed a dog up to 40 pounds, in the next building they're not allowed dogs over 40 pounds, the next building they're not allowed dogs at all."
Pokok Ohokannoak and her family in Cambridge Bay are dog owners.
"I have three beautiful female huskies. They are Fifi, Hopper and Butterball. They keep me happy and it's always great to be welcomed home from work by them. We find it easy to feed and care for our dogs as we have raised a few puppies last year. It is and has been a part of our daily life for the past three and a half years," said Ohokannoak.
Fifi, Hopper and Butterball have shelter. They spend days outside and nights indoors. They are fed twice a day - dry dog food mixed with soup made daily for them during the winter.
"When there is fish available I mix that in about four times a week. It is expensive to feed our dogs but they are our family so we manage fine with the dry dog food. It is a huge commitment to own dogs, and with the help of my family, our dogs are happy."
Ohokannoak's dogs are spayed.
"I volunteered with the vet clinic last summer and had all our dogs fixed," she said.
As an example of how productive a female dog can be, Ohokannoak said before having the dogs spayed, two of them had a total of 22 puppies.
It breaks Ohokannoak's heart to see any pet neglected, but she would not comment on whether people should be charged if they neglect or abuse their dogs.
On the other hand, although Thompson advocates for education on proper care for dogs, she said, "There needs to be bylaws enforced."
She also believes bylaws need to be enhanced.
"Shelter is left out of the bylaw. It says your dog needs to have food, water and at least a three-foot tether. I'm trying to change that to include shelter. They need to get in out of the wind."
She adds: "This is Canada. We have laws to protect animals."
In Iqaluit, said Kennedy, the new bylaw has much more teeth in terms of being able to deal with animal abuse and neglect.
"But don't forget the RCMP have the Criminal Code of Canada, which includes animal cruelty," said Kennedy. "You have to protect your dog. You have to look after your dog."
