Igloolik, Nunavut, population 1,538, is located on a small island north of the Arctic Circle. It is a traditional Inuit community where dog sleds are still the safest and most reliable way to journey across the frozen landscape. Even dogs kept as pets play an important role in this arctic community, barking a warning when predatory polar bears wander into the neighbourhood in search of food.

There are no veterinarians in this remote place, which is why veterinary technician Chris Robinson and her colleagues came here during the summer of 2007. The group of 11 women – veterinarians, technicians and animal care assistants from Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia – are volunteers with the Canadian Animal Assistance Team (CAAT).

Founded in 2005 by Vancouver animal health technologist Donna Lasser, the CAAT provides free veterinary care and humane education to disadvantaged and disaster-stricken communities around the world. The group’s first mission sent 82 volunteers to Louisiana to care for animals that had been left behind in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The Ontario chapter, run by Robinson and fellow technician Annette Pecak, began in 2007 to meet the ongoing needs of Canada’s Far North.

New ways and old

The CAAT’s arrival marked the first time that veterinary care had been available in Igloolik. During the previous summer, an outbreak of distemper had taken a heavy toll on the unvaccinated canine population. Yet, had the distemper not killed them, many of the dogs would have been shot – the only means of population control in a region where most residents have never heard of neutering, and where there is no access to more-humane methods of euthanasia. The mission of the volunteer team, therefore, was to provide the community with the veterinary services it most urgently required – vaccines, deworming treatments, and a spay/neuter clinic.

Setting up a makeshift veterinary hospital in an abandoned public health building, the team anticipated busy days and planned to get an early start. “Our first morning, we made our way down to the clinic at 8 a.m., but there wasn’t a soul around,” says Robinson. “We quickly learned that with 24-hour daylight, the residents stay up late and don’t wake up until 3 o’clock in the afternoon.” Adjusting to the local schedule, they began opening the clinic later in the day, resigned to the fact that the Inuit have a relaxed attitude about time.

To ensure that they met with as many residents as possible, the volunteers canvassed the neighbourhood and offered to vaccinate and deworm dogs on the spot. They also explained how spaying and neutering work, and handed out information in English and Inuktitut.

“The distemper outbreak was still very fresh in their minds,” says Robinson, “and they were eager to get their dogs vaccinated – especially the sled dog owners.”

As they walked out onto the tundra where the sled dogs are kept, the owners enlightened the volunteers about traditional Inuit dog care. For example, instead of using commercial dog food (which is costly and hard to come by in the North), they feed chunks of fresh, raw meat like arctic char or seal, and provide blocks of ice for drinking water.

Furthermore, like their close relatives the wolves, the dogs eat only a few times a week. The volunteers were skeptical at first, but the dogs turned out to be healthy and fit. Moreover, despite the absence of obedience classes, they were exceptionally well behaved. “The Inuit are natural dog trainers,” says Pecak. “They don’t use commands – it’s all touch and body language.”

A vital role

The Canadian Inuit Dog is so vital to the lifestyle and culture of the Inuit that it has been designated the official animal of the territory of Nunavut. One of the oldest breeds in the world, it almost faded into extinction in the 1970s, when the advent of the snowmobile rendered many sled dog teams obsolete. “The Inuit are working hard to bring the breed back,” explains Robinson, but without adequate veterinary care, the challenge may prove insurmountable.

During their two-week stay, CAAT volunteers vaccinated 127 dogs against rabies and 138 against distemper and parvovirus. They dewormed 99 dogs, treated eight sled dog teams, and provided bite-prevention training to 65 children. And although they performed only 19 spay/neuters, they anticipate that the residents will be more accepting of the procedure during future visits, once they’ve seen that the dogs recovered well and suffered no ill effects.

But while it’s gratifying to know that they’ve helped so many, the volunteers understand that they’ll need to return on a regular basis if they wish to have any lasting effect on Canada’s northern communities and the dogs upon which the Inuit’s traditional lifestyle depends.